ANBU Shinigami
by Tsukasa of the Azure Sea
Summary: The Hidden villages are distroyed in a war a hundred years ago. Now the Shinobi are scattered throughout Rugonkai and Soul Society. What happens when those in Soul Society decide that they don't need to hide anylonger? The creation of the 14th division.
1. Memories

Prologue:

Have you heard of the Shinobi?

You haven't?

That is not surprising, for they were very secretive.

Shall I tell you of a story they?

A story of the Shinobi.

I See that you are curious, are they real you ask?

Of course they are real!

However, the time of the Shinobi has ended long ago and all that is left is the stories.

How did they end? 

War.

The Third Shinobi War.

It swept across the land, destroying the Hidden Villages.

But the story that I am about to tell you takes place not in this world, but in the next.

And it focuses on one ex-Shinobi who fought, and died, in the final battle.

One who is still dealing with the effects of the war.

And so my story starts, one late night in Soul Society.

In the 4th division compound.

In the room of one Hanataro Yamada.

Let the Saga begin.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

What do you think? Are you interested in a story like this? I have the first chapter started, but I want to know if anyone is interested in something like this.

This will be a cross-over with "Naruto", however you don't need to know anything about the Naruto world/anime as it will be explained as the story goes along.


	2. Beginning

_**I DID NOT SAY THIS IN THE FIRS CHAPTER, SO I WILL SAY IT NOW:**_

_**I DO NOT OWN EITHER NARUTO OR BLEACH. IF I DID, I WOULDEN'T BE WRITING THIS!!!

* * *

**_

Chapter one: Awakening: Beginning

* * *

It was a full moon. Silver rays of light shined down on all of Seireitei. Many were asleep peacefully in their beds. 

But not all.

Hanataro tossed again, tangling in his blankets. Sweat broke out in waves, matting his already damp hair to his head. His face was twisted in pain.

"No……" he muttered, "No……_run!" _He kicked out, tangling the blankets even further.

Hanataro sat up suddenly, eyes wide, breath coming out in heaves.

"Dream….it was just a dream…." He sighed in relief, letting his body relax now that the dream was over.

Shakily, he stood up and walked over to the small window, letting the night air wash over him. The cool crisp air dried the dream-sweat and chilled his body.

He clanked around his room and his eyes fell upon a calendar. _'So that's why,' _he though, looking at the date that he circled, '_October 21'_.

Hanataro sighed once again and resigned himself to getting dressed. _'Not like I'll sleep anymore tonight anyway, besides, Nee-san is probably expecting me again,' _he thought.

Hanataro stepped out of the barracks he was housed in and looked at the moon. Ti was just over half-way through the sky.

'_The moon is full tonight, I better hurry, I need to get started on some of my work.' _He thought as he made his way across the Fourth division compound. Making his way silently to the Captains office, he was not really surprised to see that there was a light on. After all, this had become something of a routine for the two of them.

Arriving there, he slipped in to see Unohana sitting at her desk calmly sifting through papers.

Hearing his gentle knock, she looked up, "Hello Yui-kun," she greeted softly.

Hanataro frowned slightly, his eyes darkened, "You know I don't like being called that, onee-san."

"It was the name that your birth-parents gave you, I don't see what's wrong with calling you by that name," Unohana said looking pointedly at him.

"According to them, I'm not related to them and they never had a son," Hanataro said, sadness and loss lacing his voice.

"Does that change who you are? You were born Yui Uchiha and that is what I will call you when we are alone." Unohana said firmly.

"I'm never going to get you to stop calling me that, am I, onee-san?" He asked, completely ignoring what she said.

"Nope," Unohana said smiling slightly, "I wondered when you'd show up, I was starting to think that you weren't going to come," She said as she poured the green tea into cups.

Accepting the cup, he smiled sadly, "Not yet, nee-san. Besides, if I didn't come, who would keep you company?"

Unohana nodded once and sipped her tea.

"You're more confident now," She said suddenly, looking him in the eye.

Yui/Hanataro looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"Ever since those people came and fought to get Rukia-san back, and dragged you along with them, you've been more relaxed, "Unohana said looking him in the eyes , "I wonder if it is because you are finally accepting what happened to you ," she said thoughtfully.

Yui shook his head, "They needed my help, and it's as simple as that. I was the only one that could get them to the tower safely."

Unohana frowned but took the hint to drop the subject.

"Yui, are you ever going to go back there?"

"To Kohana? Maybe, someday," Yui said slowly.

"If, when you do, I would like to come with you. From the stories that you have told me, it sounds like a wonderful place," Unohana said, smiling over the rim of her tea cup.

Yui grinned as well, "Yes, I would like to show it to you." He said as the pre-dawn light hit the floor. This surprised the two of them, for they had not realized how much time had passed.

Unohana stood, knowing that the time that they spent once a year together was over.

"This is where you'll be working. Because of the attack on Soul Society, I am concerned about how strong the outer tunnels are. You are to go to the outer tunnel in the southern sector and report what damage there is." Unohana said, handing him a small scroll. Reaching over, she pulled out a larger scroll. "Here are the map, and pen," She said, handing him a small rod that hand a cap on the end.

* * *

(The 12th division had set to making replicas of the pens found in the world of the living, and Unohana managed to get her hands on some of them.)

* * *

"So you want me to scout for any weak points or cracks and mark them down." Hanataro said, looking at the map. Unohana nodded, "I wish that I didn't have to send _anyone _out that far, but…" 

"If the tunnels collapse, then so do the sections above them," Hanataro finished for her, smiling. "Don't worry, I was a Shinobi once, remember? I'll come back ok."

Unohana smiled a relived smile, "Thank you."

Hanataro nodded once and set out to get the supplies he would need for the journey.

'_The outer tunnels…'_ he thought as he made a left and walked down to the supply rooms that held the dried foods.

* * *

The outer tunnels were rarely used, and as such, fell into disrepair and became damaged from lack of care and the things that nested in them. 

Because of that, every ten years Unohana had to send someone out to survey the extent of the damages.

This hand been Hanataro's job ever since he had joined the division, both he and Unohana knew that he was the best person to deal with it. And it gave him a chance to keep his Shinobi skills sharp.

He made a short stop to his room to grab the bag that he had made especially for this kind of trip. It was made of two layers of canvas stitched together, with the top a drawstring and a flap that was secured with a buckle. The straps were about an inch and a half wide and were connected by another inch wide strap across the chest that was also held by a buckle. There were several pouches sewn on with the same double layered canvas, and into one of them he placed the map and pen and shouldered the currently light pack.

He then packed two sets of Shinigami clothes, as well as the food and on top of all of that he placed his medical supplies: several rolls of bandages, ointment, waxed thread and a slim, curved needle.

He made his way to the fourth division's special entrance, a gently sloping path that went deep into the earth and was connected to one of the main tunnels. There were several of these entrances, one in each division, and two in the eleventh (for obvious reasons) for when patents need to get to the hospital quickly or if someone is carrying something heavy or awkward.

* * *

Unohana sighed as she focused on her paperwork. 

"Something wrong, Captain?" Her vice-captain asked worriedly.

"No, I'm fine," Unohana lied easily.

"Oh, isn't the Captain's meeting soon?" Isane Kotetsu, her vice-captain said, bringing Unohana out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I better get going if I want to get there on time, don't you think?" She said smiling.

Stepping out into the sun she thought _'Be __safe __down there, little brother,'_ and with that, she made her way to the meeting hall.

* * *

"You look down, care to share?" Captain Ukitake said, meeting up with her on her way back from the meeting. 

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Unohana sighed, "I had to send someone out to scout the tunnels in the outer southern section to survey them for repairs that might need to be made. "

"Surely that isn't anything to worry about?" Ukitake asked as they walked to a bench under a Sakura tree.

"wrong. Because the tunnels have been out of use for so long, as I only send someone down once every ten years, the tunnels are not as well known as the main ones, and on top of that, access to the surface is almost none. There are also monsters that make their appearance known from time to time, though there have not been as many as of late." Unohana said, looking up at the cloudless sky.

"But that isn't quite what you're worried about, is it?" Ukitake stated gently.

Unohana sighed, " I…to make the tunnels safer, I send a scout in ahead of time. He goes through the tunnels and marks where the cracks and danger points are. I'm afraid that he may get caught in one of the monster swarms and not be able to get out of it."

"A scout?"

"Yes, he…is uniquely qualified for jobs like this, and is very good at it, but he insists on doing the job alone."

"Do you know why de asks to do it alone?"

"No, every time that I ask, he says that it's safer for everyone if he does it on his own and nothing else."

"I could send some of my men after him…" Ukitake offered. Unohana looked at him, surprised.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course, I can see you're worried about this person, and I could spare some of m division members…" Ukitake trailed off, then grinned, "And it may give me some peace and quiet for a while. "

"Who are you planning to send?" She asked, looking at him.

"My two third seats of course!"

"I don't know if they would appreciate being send off like that, " Unohana said worriedly.

"I don't think they'd mind too much," Ukitake said with a smile, "or, at least, I hope not, " he finished, more to himself then to her.

Unohana smiled, "Thank you."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is it you send down there?" Ukitake asked, all trace of his smile gone, replaced by an intense curiosity.

"His name is Hanataro Yamada."

Ukitake froze.

"_Hanataro Yamada_ ? The forth division medic that helped Ichigo and his friends? No wonder your worried, " Ukitake said, palm resting on his forehead.

"Ukitake-san, Hanataro-kun is more…qualified than any of my other division members." Unohana said firmly.

* * *

Hanataro sighed as he came to the edge of the regularly used tunnels. 

Beyond here, the tunnels would steadily become more and more damaged, and more and more dangerous.

He shifted his heavy pack to a more comfortable position and started down the tunnel. Hanataro sighed again, _'Oh well, better it be me then one of the others,'_ he thought.

And with that, he started off.

* * *

After the Captains meeting, Ukitake called both of his third-seats to his office. 

"Yes Captain? How can I help you?" Kiyone Kotetsu shouted out, only to be shoved aside by the other third seat, Sentaro Kotsubaki. "Go away you fool! I, Sentaro Kotsubaki shall serve you instead!"

Ukitake gave a long suffering sigh. "Ok, listen up you two," he said and the two third seats snapped to attention.

"You two are to go down through the tunnels to the outer southern sector and find the scout Captain Unohana send down there and make sure he comes back in one piece," he said. The two third seats looked at their Captain for a moment.

"You want us…" Sentaro started.

"To blunder around the sewers," Kiyone continued.

"To find some fourth division member!" They finished together, not realizing that they had been speaking together in the first place.

"Exactly."

"But captain, if some fourth division person gets lost, shouldn't they send someone else from the fourth division to find him?" Sentaro asked.

Ukitake smiled, "He isn't lost, he's scouting the outer southern sector for repair work. According to what Unohana-san said, the outer tunnels are rarely used, seeing as they extend to just under the wall itself. Not to mention, some of the tunnels dip down below others and haven't been used since they've been built."

"Oh, I get it!" Kiyone said, "Because there aren't any division compounds near the wall, those tunnels wouldn't get used!" she finished, grinning triumphantly.

"Yes , and the outer sections are where there are the most levels of tunnels, as well." Ukitake confirmed, "Now, he's already left, so you'll have to go fast to catch up to him." Ukitake said, crossing his arms. "Unohana-san will meet you outside the hospital to lead you to where the beginning of the outer southern sector, and give you more information on the way. Also, make sure you have enough supplies for two weeks. Once you get down there, you won't be able to come back for supplies."

"Why not?" Kiyone asked.

"There is a reason that the outer tunnels are scouted only once every ten years. Because there are so many layers of tunnels, there is no easy way to the surface. And on top of that, the ladders leading to the main level of tunnels are all spread out. And there are tunnels that are actually ramps that lead to the next level."

Sentaro nodded once, "Don't worry, sir. I'll take care of this!" With that he charged off, Kiyone hot on his trail after making a similar statement. Ukitake sighed, a small grin on his face.

* * *

Hanataro was not happy. 

So far, in the first few hours he'd been here, he had run into two nests of tunnel worms.

That wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that they ranged from the size of a small dog to the size of a large horse and grew to the size of a bus.

Hanataro turned the corner and saw a large crack, lit by the dim blue glow of the lichens that grew on the wall. Hanataro reached out and brushed against the soft lichens that only grew in the outer regions of the tunnels.

He took out both the map and pen and marked the crack on the map, also adding a short description of the crack.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Hanataro dropped his pen in shock as the scream echoed down the tunnels.

Hanataro looked back down the tunnel that he came from, _'Did someone else come down here?' _he thought, quickly packing away his supplies. He set the pack against the wall, deciding that he would come back for it later and ran back the way he came.

'_Where is he…'_ he thought, trying to locate the source of the scream. He heard the screams again, though this time it was a girls voce. _'Damn, there are two of them?' _he thought as he reached the end of the branch tunnel and made a sharp left, running quickly down the main tunnel.

Up ahead, he could see the orange glow of a torch.

Hanataro increased his speed.

* * *

Kiyone whipped out with her sword, cutting into one of the worm things. Sentaro was beside her, one hand holding up the torch. He edged back to give himself more room between the bugs and him when he felt his foot touch the wall. 

"Kiyone…we have a problem…" Sentaro said as he dropped the torch and swung the sword viciously with both of his hands.

"What problem? Can't it wait?" She yelled at him, slashing at another of the worms, this one was one of the larger ones and was proving to be slightly more difficult.

"We're at the wall." He said grimly.

"Wha-argh!!" Kiyone, distracted by what he said, got stabbed through the leg just above the knee by the spear-like end of the monster.

"Kiyone!" Sentaro yelled, looking over at her in panic.

"Keep going! Don't worry about me!" she shouted at him, stabbing one of the worms through the top of the mouth and directly into the brain.

"HEY! GET DOWN _NOW!"_' a voice shouted from outside of the ring of torch-light. Whether by the tone of the voice, or the desperate situation they were in, both obeyed instantly. They dropped to the ground and covered their heads with their arms.

Above them, they heard a voice shout "Katon: Karyu Endan!"

Sentaro and Kiyone watched in awe as red-hot flames swept through the worms, burning them away completely.

Their mysterious savior landed softly, back facing them. The torch had been burned away in the flame, and the only light came from the glowing mosses on the walls. The figure turned, making the two of them gasp in shock.

"Hanataro-san? You're the scout?" Sentaro shouted in surprise.

Hanataro blinked, "Wait a minute, you're the two third seats in division thirteen, what are you doing out here?" he said confused.

"We were looking for the scout Captain Unohana send out. Captain Ukitake sent us after him-you- to make sure you got back ok." Kiyone said, clutching her leg, wincing.

"Wha? You're hurt!" He exclaimed, seeing the blood pooling around Kiyone's leg. Immediately he rushed over and gently pushed the cloth away from the wound.

Kiyone hissed as Hanataro wiped the blood away from the wound. "Don't worry, it isn't as bad as it looks. You do need stitches, though." Hanataro said, looking at the wound.

"Sentaro-san, I need you to carry her, I left my pack back in one of the other tunnels." Hanataro said standing up.

"Uh, sure." Sentaro said, picking up Kiyone bridal style.

Hanataro walked back the way he had come, with two very confused Shinigami behind him. Kiyone and Sentaro looked at each other, then at Hanataro, then back to each other and nodded once. They were going to get answers out of him.

* * *

Jutsu Guide: 

Katon: Karyu Endan (English: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile)

Think a very large flamethrower.

I bet that none of you were expecting this. Don't you love plot twists?

Thank-you to all that reviewed, it keeps me writing.

Falco-loki: Sorry to say, but Hanataro won't be paired with anyone, and if so, an OC. I can't think of anyone in the Bleach world that I could get to be paired with Hanataro and still make it believable. But, I am willing to work it so that Isane is like an elder sister to Hanataro.

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Review so that I know what to fix and what to do better.

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Flames shall be used to light my candles.

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_**You have been warned!**_


	3. Apprentences

Aww… Nobody reviewed…

Makes me think that you think I'm crazy for writing this!

(I probably am but that's not the point!)

Oh, and I know that Hanataro is acting slightly OC, but I do have a reason for this. It is my opinion that if Hanataro was more confident then he would be like Iruka. I can't tell you much without giving away the plot line, but I will say this: Hanataro has a reason for his lack of self-confidence. This reason stems from something that happened when he was alive. Because of this, he feels that he is worthless. The event with Ichigo and his friends helped to restore some of the confidence that he lost.

That's all I'm going to tell you! You'll have to read the rest of the story for more information on Hanataro's past. You're welcome to guess at it.

And review! They give me motivation to write faster! Really! Otherwise I'll end up losing motivation around the tenth chapter…XP

Chapter two:

* * *

Awakening : Apprentices 

The walls glowed blue, casting dark shadows on the group as they walked quickly back to Hanataro's pack.

"Here we are, set Kiyone-san down against the wall," Hanataro said, reaching into his pack and pulling out some bandages, thread and a curved needle as well as a bottle of clear liquid.

Kneeling beside her, he said, "Sorry, but I need to clean the wound before I can stitch it." Hanataro explained apologetically. Kiyone nodded, still dazed from the pain.

Hanataro unscrewed the vial of clear liquid, "Clench your teeth," he said before pouring the liquid over the wound. Both Kiyone and the liquid hissed as it made contact with her skin. Hanataro quickly threaded the needle and stitched her wound then covered it in clean white bandages.

"There, that should do until you get back to the surface," Hanataro said as he tied off the bandage.

"What do ya mean 'back to the surface'?" Sentaro shouted. "We were ordered by our captain to make sure you got out of here alive, and that's what we're going to do!" Sentaro finished at a yell, fist clenched in front of him for emphasis. Hanataro frowned, "You guys can't come with me. For one thing, Kiyone-san shouldn't be walking _anywhere_until her wound heals, and for another there are more dangerous things down here then tunnel worms."

"That's _why_ we need to come with you," Kiyone said, voicing her agreement to Sentaro's idea.

Hanataro sighed, "I can defend myself just fine, " he said exasperated, "You saw how I took care of those tunnel worms." As soon as he said that he cursed himself for bringing their attention to his attack.

"Speaking about that, what you used wasn't a Kido spell, was it?" Kiyone asked, pinning him with an impressive glare. Impressive, considering the fact that she was sitting down with a pale face and looking rather tired.

Sentaro looked between the two and decided that, for once, it would be best to let Kiyone handle this. Instead he moved behind her, letting her handle this, but lending his support in the matter.

"Umm… I don't know what you're talking about…" Hanataro said, trying to divert the conversation.

It didn't work.

"Don't play dumb with us, Yamada." Kiyone said, painfully hauling herself up and hauling herself over to where Hanataro is standing. Fisting her hand in his robes, she said "What the _hell_ was that attack?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Hanataro asked, shocked, he had _never_ seen her like this before…

"Because…because…I want to learn how to do it too… an attack like that …it was as strong as one of the Kido in the 40's. If I could learn something like that… then… maybe I could protect them…"

"Huh?"

"With the hollows attacking more often, and getting stronger and stronger… I don't know how much longer I can protect them." Kiyone looked him in the eyes, her own bright with determination.

"And…who is it…that you want to protect?" Hanataro asked slowly, meeting her eyes.

Kiyone nearly faltered, his eyes had turned hard, sharp, they seemed to pierce her soul, taking it apart piece by piece and judging it and her.

But they also spoke of pain.

Pain that was both very deep and very old.

"My…my sister, my friends, my division teammates, and… my captain." She said finally.

Hanataro's eyes softened, loosing most of their piercing look.

"So, that is why. And what about you, Sentaro? Why do you want to learn this?" Hanataro asked, this time it was Sentaro's turn to get pinned in place by Hanataro's gaze.

"Me? For…for the same reasons as Kiyone." Sentaro said firmly.

Hanataro looked at him carefully with the same analyzing gaze he used on Kiyone.

Sentaro shifted slightly, unnerved. Hanataro nodded once, as if confirming something to himself.

"Ok, I will teach you. But it won't be easy, or something you can learn quickly." He said firmly. He felt Kiyone's fist loosen and release his robes. Without holding onto him for support, she wavered. Sentaro moved quickly, catching her before she could hit the floor.

Looking at Kiyone, Hanataro said "It's time for your first lesson." He kneeled down by her injured leg and pushed back the tattered black cloth. Carefully he unwrapped the bandages and made some strange hand seals. Before they could ask what he was doing, his hands lit up with a beautiful green glow. Lowering his hands, he placed them just above the wound. Kiyone inhaled sharply as she felt the strange energy being emitted from his hands, but relaxed when she felt the warmth that came with it.

A few minutes later, he removed his hands. "There, done." Kiyone blinked and looked at her leg, there was no wound and the stitches that were in her leg were missing. "Hey! When did you take out the stitches?" she demanded.

"When I was in the middle of my jutsu," Hanataro said, standing and brushing dirt off of himself, "You weren't paying any attention to anything, so I figured that it would be best to do it then." He explained, holding out a hand to help her up.

Carefully, Kiyone stood up, testing her leg. She was amazed to find that there was no pain, only a slight scar where the wound was.

"Wait a minute, you just healed Kiyone's wound almost instantly, so why haven't you healed Captain Ukitake?" Sentaro demanded.

Hanataro looked at him and sighted, "Take a seat, this is going to be a long explanation." Once they all were seated, he started to explain, " To heal a cut like that, all that needs to be done is regenerate the old cells. Basically, what I did was simply speed up the natural healing process. Your body would have regenerated on its own. But to heal a disease like the one that Captain Ukitake has is far harder. I would have to burn the disease out of his body, then heal the damage that it caused. _All_ of it. And because the damage to his body is so sever, it would mean basically regenerating his entire body around him." Hanataro explained. "To do something of that level would need a lot of skill and a lot of power. At the moment, and even when I was at the top of my skills, I don't have either." Hanataro looked the two of them in the eyes, "I wasn't trained to use medical Jutsu as my specialty. It's only a secondary ability, and because of that, I don't know a lot of the more advanced medical Jutsu."

Kiyone and Sentaro looked down, they had thought for a moment that there might be a way to save their captain. Seeing their depressed look, Hanataro waved his hands in front of him saying "H-Hey now, I said that I didn't know them, but I never said that it was impossible!"

The two of them looked up at him, eyes full of questions.

"A lot of the medical Jutsu should have survived the destruction, seeing as they were deep in the vaults at the time," Hanataro said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, " they should still be there. That means that all we have to do is go back and look for one that can help Captain Ukitake."

"It won't be easy though," he warned them, "medical Jutsu require a lot of control. They were originally designed to be used with Chakra, not reiatsu. Chakra and retsu work the same way, but reiatsu is a lot harder to use when performing Jutsu."

"IT DOSEN'T MATTER HOW HARD IT IS!" Sentaro shouted, "THERE MAY BE A WAY TO HEAL OUR CAPTAIN, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO TRY AND LEARN IT!"

Kiyone froze, allowing the words to sink into her brain. Slowly, she smiled, "Yes! It doesn't matter how long it takes, we'll find the right Jutsu and heal our captain!"

"Haha, so the two of you want to learn?" Hanataro asked needlessly.

"Yes!" chorused the two.

Hanataro smiled, "Ok… but you can't learn any of the jutsu yet. First you need to work on control and the basics."

"WHAT!" chorused the two again.

"Shinobi Jutsu require a lot less energy, reiatsu , then kido do. If you put too much energy into one of the jutsu, it could back fire and injure you greatly."

"Oh…that would be bad." Kiyone said.

"Very."

"So… what basics are we going to learn?" Sentaro asked, Hanataro though for a moment, "Reiatsu control," he said finally, "and the basic academe Jutsu, as well as a few other useful ones."

"I was thinking that the two of you could learn the tree-climbing exercise, but seeing as there are no trees _to_ climb, the walls will do instead."

"Uh… how is this going to help us control our reiatsu?" Kiyone asked, puzzled, "And the walls look too slippery to climb, and there aren't any hand-holds."

Hanataro grinned, "Watch me. The idea of this exercise is to channel a small amount of controlled reiatsu to the soles of your feet and keep it there. If you put too much into your feet, you'll blast off the wall. Not enough and you won't stick at all." He said, standing at the base of the wall. He turned to it and placed one foot on the wall, then the other, sticking to the wall. He continued this until he was about fifteen feet up the wall.

On the ground, Kiyone and Sentaro were in shock. "This is considered a basic exercise in my village." Hanataro continued from his perch on the wall.

"Basic! That is amazing!" Kiyone shouted back at him.

"Uhh…Thanks…now you do it." Hanataro instructed, coming back down to earth, or the floor at least, considering they are underground.

Kiyone and Sentaro looked at each other, nodded once, and charged the wall.

_Step…Step…Ste-thump!_

Hanataro sweat-dropped as the two of them came crashing back to earth. It seems as though Sentaro didn't use enough reiatsu, and Kiyone used too much.

"Owww…"

"That hurt…"

Hanataro chuckled slightly, "Maybe I should give you some theory first…" he was met with two glares.

"That might be helpful," Sentaro said, rubbing the lump that was forming on the back of his head.

A little while later, the group of three were sitting in a circle. Hanataro gave them an explanation on Chakra theory, telling them that the same applied to retsu as well. He then proceeded to show them the hand seals and the purpose of each.

However, there was something that was bothering Kiyone," Umm… Hanataro?"

"Yes?"

"You said that these were _Shinobi_ techniques right?"

"Yeah…" Hanataro answered, wondering where this was going.

"So does that mean that you're a Shinobi too?"

Hanataro froze, an odd look entering his eyes. "I was…once long ago…but not anymore…" he said slowly, face turned away from them, eyes averted and staring blankly at the floor.

Kiyone was about to ask him what he meant when she caught a glimpse of his face. His eyes were clouded in pain, not physical pain, but emotional pain.

Out of his eye, a single tear fell.

The rest of the night was silent. After Kiyone asked her question, Hanataro unrolled his sleeping bag and went to sleep, back towards them. Kiyone and Sentaro quickly followed him into the land of dreams.

To Sentaro, it felt like he had only just closed his eyes when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. "Come on, we need to get going. I still have a job to do down here, and we wasted a lot of time yesterday." Someone said, Sentaro vaguely recognized the voice as Hanataro's.

Sentaro groaned and swatted in the general direction of the voice and snuggled deeper into his sleeping bag.

Hanataro sighed, "Sentaro, we need to get going."

"Here, let me do it." Kiyone said coming up behind Hanataro and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She swiftly drew back her foot and gave him a swift kick in the gut.

"Kiyone!" Hanataro and Sentaro yelled, Hanataro in surprise that she would do something like that and Sentaro in anger at being awoken so rudely.

"What? It got him awake didn't it?" she asked blearily as she turned to get her sleeping bag rolled up and gather the rest of her things.

Hanataro looked between the two of them, and wondered for the first of many times just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

* * *

DAY TWO:

* * *

"Oww!" Kiyone yelled as she fell off the wall for what seemed like the thousandth time. 

"Ha ha!" Sentaro laughed at her, unfortunately for him, he lost control and fell to the floor in a heap.

"'Ha ha' yourself!" Kiyone said, snickering.

Ahead of the two, Hanataro sighed and pulled out the map, marking down another break in the wall.

* * *

DAY FIVE:

* * *

"Hey Hanataro-sensei! We made it all the way to the top" Sentaro shouted down to Hanataro. Somewhere around the third day, Sentaro had jokingly called him 'Hanataro-sensei' and the name stuck. 

"Good job! Now I want you to run along the roof for the rest of the day." Hanataro called back to them.

"WHAT!" the two yelled unanimously, causing them to loose concentration and fall back to earth. Thankfully, Hanataro had taught them how to cushion hard impacts with reiatsu due to the sheer fact that they fell so often, so they didn't break anything.

* * *

DAY SEVEN:

* * *

"Ok, this is called the Kawarimi no Jutsu. Watch what I do." Hanataro said. He slowly formed the hand seals needed and one '_poof'_ later, his bag and him had switched places. 

"Whoa, so cool!" they chorused.

"Sentaro, you go first, try to replace yourself with my bag." Hanataro said, stepping back.

Sentaro nodded and did the seals. However, his aim was a bit…off.

"Sentaro! Let go of me!" Kiyone shouted in anger as she found herself being held by a bewildered Sentaro. Unfortunately, due to the suddenness of the situation, his hand was touching something that it shouldn't…

"Sorry Kiyone! I really didn't mean to-"

"Come here, you pervert!" Kiyone snarled as she gave chase to a rapidly fleeing Sentaro.

Hanataro sighed for the hundredth time and wondered vaguely how Captain Ukitake put up with the two of them.

* * *

DAY NINE:

* * *

"Ok, so the two of you can do the Kawarimi no Jutsu, the next one on the list is…Henge no Jutsu!" Hanataro said, clapping his hands together. 

Kiyone and Sentaro sweat-dropped.

"Ok, watch me." He made the seals and…_'poof'_… there stood a second Sentaro.

"This Jutsu can cast an illusion on yourself to make you look just like anyone else. But this does have it's limits. This Jutsu is only effective if you know _exactly_ what that person looks like. Now, both of you try turning into me."

Five seconds later, Hanataro was looking at two _very _deformed versions of himself.

"Uhh…I think you two should work on it as we walk…" Hanataro said, sweat-dropping once again.

* * *

DAY ELEVEN:

* * *

"OK, this is the last of the Jutsu that I'll teach you while we're here." Hanataro said, "This one is called Bunshin no Jutsu and it creates a copy of yourself…watch me." Hanataro once again made some seals and two seconds later there were four more Hanataros then there should have been. 

There was only one way to describe it.

"Cool." Kiyone whispered.

"Very. But remember, these clones are, at best, only a distraction. They can't deal any damage, and they can't take any. A light tap is enough to send them packing." Hanataro explained, dismissing his clones.

The two looked at each other, grinned, and formed the hand seals as fast as they could. Hanataro looked back and smiled.

_'Maybe it was a better idea to teach the two of them then __I origionally thought..._

* * *

DAY TWELVE:

* * *

The trio had made it back to the main part of the tunnels. 

"Hey, Hana-sensei, what do we do now?" Kiyone asked.

"What do you mean?" Hanataro asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, you won't be able to teach us as much as before because we all have duties." She said with a slightly disappointed look.

Hanataro though for a moment, "Ah, I got it! You could tell your Captain that you are getting lessons in medical techniques from me and ask him for a day off once a week." Hanataro nodded, pleased with himself.

"But what about Captain Unohana? Wouldn't you need her permission too?" Sentaro asked.

"Not to worry. She already knows about Jutsu, and I don't think that she'll mind as long as I make up the work that I missed." Hanataro stated confidently.

* * *

Back on the surface: Captain Ukitake's office

* * *

"So let me get this straight, both of you want a day off so you can go over to the fourth division and learn medical techniques from Hanataro Yamada." Captain Ukitake said, rubbing his forehead.

His two third seats nodded.

Ukitake looked at them, they had told him that Hanataro had started to teach them medical techniques down in the tunnels. However, there were also other changes that he couldn't quite figure out. For one thing their reiatsu was far more controlled, they weren't fighting as much and they even seemed to work together on occasion. That in itself almost made him rush over to the Fourth.

Ukitake decided that they could spend as much time at the fourth as they needed…as long as they got their work done.

"Ok, you can go. Just make sure that you still get all of your work done, or I'll stop allowing you to go, understood?" Ukitake said.

He received two enthusiastic nodes in reply.

Seconds later, the two of them were out the door and running full speed to the fourth division.

* * *

Captain Unohana's office-the same time

* * *

"Ah, Hanataro! Back so soon?" Captain Unohana asked as she set aside the paper work that she was working on.

"Yes, things went faster than I thought, what with Kiyone and Sentaro hanging around." Hanataro said, accepting the cup of tea that she handed him.

"I am sorry. I hope that the two of them didn't cause any trouble for you, I was rather worried about you though, seeing as you haven't been seriously training anymore. I was worried that there might be trouble, more of the tunnel monsters down there than normal due to all of the activity on the surface." Unohana explained.

Hanataro shook his head, "No, don't worry about it. They were fun to have around. Captain, I…have a favor to ask of you…"

"What is it?" Unohana asked, genuinely curious.

"I've been teaching them, Sentaro and Kiyone I mean, some of my Jutsu…both of them really want to learn, and they are good...I was hoping that you would allow me one day a week to train the two of them. We've made a cover story already, Sentaro and Kiyone are asking Captain Ukitake if they can come over once a week to learn Medical techniques from me." Hanataro explained in a rush.

Unohana looked at him closely, "I thought that you said that you wouldn't teach anyone Jutsu," She commented.

"Er…well I…I guess that…" Hanataro franticly searched his mind for a reason to why he agreed to train the two of them. Truth be told, he didn't know why he agreed to train them either.

"Calm down, I can see that you don't know the reason either." Unohana said, raising a single hand in a calming gesture. "You may take one day a week for lessons with Sentaro-san and Kiyone-san."

Hanataro smiled brightly, "Thank you very much Captain Unohana!"

At that moment, they heard a crashing in the halls outside of the room. Looking out the door, they found Kiyone and Sentaro in a heap on the ground, Isane on the ground beside them. It looked as though the three of them had collided in the middle of the hall.

Kiyone looked up, "Guess what? Captain Ukitake said that we could come as often as we want for lessons as long as we get all of our work done!" She told him happily, Sentaro nodded in agreement.

"What's this about lessons?" Isane asked, rubbing her head.

"Hanataro is going to be teaching Sentaro and Kiyone once a week in Medical Kido." Captain Unohana said, smiling gently.

She had a feeling that things were about to change for the better. At the very least, it should be interesting to watch…

* * *

End chapter two : Awakening : Apprentices

* * *

A/N:

Argh, only one review? That sucks….

Anyway, in regards to my other story, Haven, it will be put on hold due to lack of plotline in that one and too many ideas for this one.

Any questions are welcome.

Jutsu Guide:

Kawarimi no Jutsu: Translation: Change of Body Technique, Change of stance or Body Replacement.

The user replaces him/her self with an object, often a piece of wood. Usually confuses the attacker and leaves them open for attack. A basic jutsu that must be learned to graduate to Genin level.

Henge no Jutsu: Translation: Transformation Technique

The user takes on the appearance of someone else. The jutsu is taught at the academe and is considered a basic skill.

Bunshin no Jutsu: Translation: Clone Technique

This is a basic technique known by all Genin. Used to create a copy of the user to cause a diversion or create confusion. The drawback is that they cannot do any damage.


	4. Lies

So many reviews! I got seven reviews for one chapter! I feel loved!!!!!

(Hugs all that reviewed and is thrown off irritably)

Thanks to all that reviewed. They keep me going, and encourage me to write better, they really do.

On to the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter three: Lies

* * *

One week later:

It was very early. So early in fact that just about everyone in Soul Society was just waking up.

Hanataro was one of the few that were fully awake at five in the morning. He was making his way to the 13th division HQ to pick up his two students.

Why ?

Because this was the day that he had set aside to train Kiyone and Sentaro.

He had been up very early, due to nightmares, and wasted time until morning making sure that the training ground that he used was set up for more than one person. Dodging past groggy 4th division members on their way to their work stations, he made it to the 13th in about 30 minutes.

Not wasting time, he made his way directly to Captain Ukitake's office. Knocking politely, he waited until he heard Captain Ukitake call him inside.

He was greeted with the sight of a slightly groggy Captain.

"I hope I'm not too early," Hanataro said nervously, noting Captain Ukitake's rather rumpled appearance.

"Not a yawn problem," Captain Ukitake said, waving off his apology, "What can I do for you?" he asked, holding back another yawn.

"Actually, I was hoping that that I could 'borrow' Sentaro and Kiyone today." Hanataro asked nervously.

"Hmm… I don't think that they're up yet," Captain Ukitake mused, " Why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea while we wait for one of them to wake up?" He offered as he poured out two cups of tea.

Hanataro sat down and accepted the cup of tea gratefully. The liquid was soothing and relaxing to Hanataro. Captain Ukitake watched Hanataro carefully. He waited until Hanataro was taking a sip of the green tea before he said "So…You're a Shinobi…"

Hanataro inhaled and ended up choking on his tea.

"H-how did you know I was a Shinobi?" Hanataro managed to choke out.

Captain Ukitake chuckled, "Well, I have a friend who is a Shinobi and he was kind enough to tell me how to recognize a Shinobi when I saw one. When you first came to Soul Society I knew that you were a Shinobi, but as long as you were not causing any problems, then I saw no reason to confront you about it. Now, just a guess, but you aren't teaching Sentaro and Kiyone medic Kido, are you? You're teaching them Shinobi Jutsu."

Hanataro nearly sagged in relief, if that was the way that Captain Ukitake had found out, and he was sure that he wasn't lying, then he didn't have to worry about battle-crazy eleventh division members hounding him for a fight just yet.

"Would I also be correct in assuming that you're the reason that they didn't tell me?" Captain Ukitake stated, though it was phrased as a question.

Hanataro rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Yeah. Sorry about that but I didn't want the 11th after me for a fight or Captain Kurotsuchi after me to find out how to do Jutsu."

Captain Ukitake nodded, "Understandable. Be careful, once the two of them start to use your Jutsu in public, someone will undoubtedly trace it back to you."

Hanataro nodded, "I understand, but if they do come after me, then they will learn why Shinobi were once so feared."

Captain Ukitake laughed, "So, you'll fight off whoever comes after you? What if they want you to train them too?"

Hanataro thought for a moment, "It would depend on their reasoning," he mused, "If they had a good reason for wanting me to train them, then it wouldn't be a problem…as long as they asked politely of course." He shrugged, "And even then, I'm not that keen on teaching anyone else Jutsu."

"Ah, because you learned them when you were alive?"

"Yes."

A comfortable silence descended upon the two.

"Hanataro, can I come and watch you train sometime?" Captain Ukitake asked.

"Oh…um…sure." Hanataro said, slightly surprised.

The sound of an opening door stopped any further conversation. In stepped a slightly sleepy Kiyone.

" Morning Captain." Kiyone said, forcing back a yawn as she stumbled into the room. "Hana-sensei? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Training today, remember?" Hanataro said grinning.

"Huh? Training today?" Kiyone said, coming awake instantly.

"Yup. Where's Sentaro?"

"Still asleep. Hold on a moment!" Kiyone said as she turned around and ran out of the room and down the hall. Seconds later they heard an assortment of shouting, crashing and a few yelps of pain that seemed to come from Sentaro.

Ukitake sighed and poured some more tea for the two of them.

As the two finished the last of their tea five minutes later, Sentaro and Kiyone came thundering down the hall and skidded to a stop in the still-open door.

"Ok! We're ready to go!" Kiyone said, happily ignoring a grumbling Sentaro.

"Thank you for the tea Captain Ukitake." Hanataro said, standing up and bowing slightly.

"Not at all, maybe next time you could tell me some of your adventures as a Shinobi," Captain Ukitake said as he set down his tea cup.

Something flashed in Hanataro's eyes, but was gone just as quickly, making Captain Ukitake question whether or not he had actually seen it.

"Perhaps…" Hanataro said as he breezed past his two students. "Come on you two, we have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it." He called behind him as he walked out the door. Sentaro and Kiyone looked at each other and hurried after their mysterious sensei.

Ukitake looked at the door that Hanataro left through for a long moment, wondering what he had said to make the boy look like he was dying.

* * *

Hanataro walked briskly though the streets, cursing himself for loosing control of his emotions like that. Undoubtedly Captain Ukitake had noticed his loss of control. 

"Hey! Hana-sensei, wait up!" Kiyone shouted from behind him, snapping him out of his daze. She stopped, allowing the two of them to catch up to him.

"What was that about? You looked like someone _died_." Sentaro said as they walked through the streets.

Hanataro shook his head, "Nothing," he answered, not wanting to go into any detail.

"Don't say it was nothing," Kiyone snapped at him with surprising force, "You looked really sad. Like your best friend _died_. What's wrong?" Kiyone asked him.

Hanataro stopped suddenly, Sentaro and Kiyone noticed a second later and paused as well. Stopping in front of him and looking back, Sentaro said "Hana-sensei?"

Hanataro looked up and smiled, "Really guys, it's nothing!" He walked past them, saying "Come on, I found a great place to train, it's in the 4th division, one of the less-used training grounds."

Sentaro and Kiyone looked at each other worriedly. Something was wrong with their friend and they wanted to know what it was.

Without a word, the ran after the retreating figure of one Hanataro Yamada.

"Here it is," Hanataro said as he set down his pack and stretched.

"Hanataro, what's wrong? Please, you can tell us," Kiyone said, trying once again to get him to tell them what was wrong.

"What do you mean?" Hanataro asked in return, praying that they would drop it.

"Don't lie to us. You've been silent and moody all the way here. And the way you reacted to Captain Ukitake…is your past really so bad that it affects you this much?" Sentaro yelled at him, his eyes searching his for answers.

Hanataro froze. He hadn't expected them to pay so much attention to his emotions, or for them to care so much.

"Don't you trust us enough?" Kiyone asked him, "Whatever it is, you can trust us and we won't ever tell anyone.

Hanataro paused, _'Should I tell them?' _he asked himself, _'No…__I tell them?'_

They stood there, at the entrance to the fourth division, for a long moment.

Hanataro sighed, suddenly he felt _old_ , " Look...I know that you two are worried, but really, I'm fine." He said, putting a small, false smile on his face.

Sentaro and Kiyone looked at him, neither believing a word that he said. But both of them knew that he wouldn't tell them anything.

Kiyone sighed, "Fine, you win. But…If you ever feel like talking…"

Hanataro nodded, "Right. I understand."

They continued on in silence, Hanataro leading them to a small, hidden clearing deep in the fourth division. The only way into the clearing was a narrow path that wound through the trees. The clearing was wide, with a pond at one end and boulders on the other. The center of the clearing was beaten down, as though someone had trampled over it recently. The trees were tall and thick, making it impossible to see the clearing from the main path.

Hanataro immediately started teaching them the water-walking exercise. Carefully, he showed them what to do, giving them a thorough explanation as he did and left them to practice.

_'Sorry guys…but I'm not ready to talk about my past…not yet…__'_ he thought as he leaned back against one of the trees, the warm breeze lulling him gently into sleep.

-

-

Deep in Hanataro's mind, a person watched with a mixture of boredom, anger and amusement.

the figure said to no one. He sat down and started playing with some dark blue flames.

The figure said as he threw the blue flames at a near-by tree and watched as the flames vaporized it.

* * *

As always, review! Thanks for reading!!!

If you have any questions, ask them and I'll do my best to answer them as long as it isn't about the plotline.


	5. Midnight Dancer

Chapter four: Midnight Dancer

* * *

Two weeks later:

* * *

Hanataro sighed; he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. His squad was to work in the eighth division, cleaning. Somehow, most of his squad had disappeared, leaving him with the task of cleaning up the division bath house.

By himself.

Not bothering to even go looking for them, it wouldn't do any good and he really didn't mind doing the work by himself, he started to get to work on the shower stalls.

_'__The others ha__ve__ probably gotten __to work on the other jobs that we__ were assigned__'_ Hanataro thought as he scrubbed at one particularly stubborn patch of scum.

It didn't take him long to finish up with the shower stalls, leaving him with only the floor to wash. Sighing, he got a bucket full of hot water, added some of the soap and started in the far corner of the room.

Soon, he was done. He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and smiled. Even though the rest of his squad had gone off, he still managed to get the room clean in half the time it would have taken them to clean it. Such is the advantages of being a Shinobi -or former Shinobi.

Hanataro chuckled humorlessly. He knew he was acting slightly out of character, but at the moment, he didn't care. He hadn't gotten more than eight hours of sleep in the past week-and not for lack of trying.

Unfortunately for him, his memories seemed determined to make themselves known as often as they could. And that would be every time that he fell asleep.

He sighed and smirked slightly, _'I almost feel like Vincent __Valentine,'_ he thought in amusement, remembering his last trip to earth where he had encountered a game by the name of Final Fantasy 7. (A/N: Not mine either!)

He put away his cleaning supplies in the small closet and started looking for the rest of his squad. Looking around, he saw that all of their assigned jobs had already been done, so Hanataro headed back to the 4th. He yawned and stretched, trying to work out the knots in his back.

"Hana-sensei!" Two voices called out from behind him.

Turning, he saw Sentaro and Kiyone running up to him.

"What are you two doing here? Don't you have work to be doing?" Hanataro asked, vaguely amused.

"No way! We finished it ages ago. We decided to look for you and see if you could train us some more." Sentaro said in a rush.

Hanataro chuckled, smiling slightly he said "Well, I'd like to, but my shift at the Hospital starts soon. I need to get going and I can't take a day off or anything right now anyway, there is still too much that needs to be cleaned up due to the Ryoka (Spelling?) incident." Hanataro explained.

Sentaro and Kiyone frowned.

It had been about four weeks since Ichigo Kurosaki had invaded Soul Society and Azen's betrayal. All of the Shinigami of Soul Society were scrambling to fill in the gaps left where Gin, Tosen, and Azen had been.

The paperwork had increased dramatically, seeing as Captain Ukitake had insisted on taking over the 3rd division as well as his own until a new captain could be found.

And due to the damage and the injuries, the Shinigami in the 4th division were pulling double shifts to get everything done.

Hanataro looked up at the sun and swore. "Damn! Look, sorry you two but I have to go or I'm going to be late for my shift!" Hanataro said hurriedly. Without waiting for a reply, he sped off down the streets.

He arrived at the Hospital huffing and panting. He took a second to lean against the side of the Hospital to catch his breath before going inside.

"Hey, Hanataro! Ready for your shift?" Called Kai from over by the door. Kai was one of those people who knew everyone and everything that was going on.

He was also a former Shinobi.

"Yeah, it's a nice day outside, isn't it?" Hanataro said as he checked himself in for his hospital shift.

"So….word from the grapevine says that you are teaching the third seats of division thirteen Shinobi techniques…care to share?" Kai asked leaning against the wall.

Hanataro chuckled, in the many years that he had known Kai he had found that nothing slipped past him for long. "They…reminded me of myself when I first started out with my Shinobi training. They had the same determination as I did. And with war coming closer, we need all the strong fighters we can get. The two of them are picking up Shinobi Jutsu as fast as I can teach them. With time, they might just get up to Jonin or even ANBU level."

Kai let out a low whistle, "That good, eh?" he said quietly. Hanataro nodded.

"Well," Kai said while pushing off the wall, "things to do today. Catch ya later!" He called over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

Hanataro shook his head. Of all the Shinobi in the 4th, Kai had to be one of the more active ones.

He picked up his assignment for his shift and got to work.

-.-;-.-;-.-;-.-;-.-;-.-;-.-;

Hanataro sighed, absently noting that it was becoming a habit for him.

The moon was full and shone brightly down on the figure of one Hanataro Yamada. He was currently sitting on the roof of his room, looking at the stars. Lying back, he sighed in contentment as the tiles chilled his hot and sweaty skin.

The nightmare tonight had been especially bad, Hanataro thought as he resumed watching the moon.

_'This is getting annoying…'_ Hanataro thought, _'I can't even get a few __hours'__ worth of sleep anymore! There has to be…got it! It always worked before…'_ Hanataro jumped off of the roof and slipped into his room and into his closet. He pulled out an old wooden box, plain and obviously well cared for. Carved into the center of the dark wood was the symbol of Konoha.

Hanataro pulled off the top of the box and grabbed the two items on top. He stopped for a moment to look at the two identical items.

They were short ninjaken, well worn and well cared for. Setting one down gently, he grasped the other with both hands, one hand on the sheath and one on the hilt of the ninjaken. Unsheathing it, he watched as the light of the moon made the blade glow a slivery blue.

Snapping out of his daze, he re-sheathed the sword and grabbed the other one beside him, grabbed his shirt almost as an afterthought and left to go down to the lake near the edge of the fourth and fifth division.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rangiku Matsumono, Izuru Kira and Renji Arabari were walking back to their divisions after a round of drinking at one of the bars in the first district. Slightly drunk, though far less so than normal, the three friends stumbled on the path that would lead them back to their divisions.

They were leaning against each other slightly so as to not trip and fall over their own feet.

They were passing the lake that was just inside the fourth division when Matsumono stopped.

"What's up?" Renji asked, confused and more than a little slow due to the sake he had drank.

"Hey, look at that," Rangiku said, ignoring Renji and pointing at the lake. There seemed to be something _dancing_ on the surface of the water.

"Huh?" Kira said, looking over at the lake too, "Who is that?" He asked.

"Who knows?" Renji said, "Maybe it's someone's shikai?"

"No, it can't be, there isn't enough reiatsu coming from him to be shikai." Matsumono said frowning, "Let's go check it out!" She said suddenly, grabbing Kira and Renji by the arm and dragging her drunken companions to the bushes by the edge of the lake.

The trio peaked over the top of the bushes and watched the strange figure dance across the water.

The figure on the lake had two short swords, mostly straight and had no hand guard, or at least none that they could see. He, for they could see that the figure was at least male, even if they couldn't see who it was, seemed completely comfortable with the two deadly blades he was throwing up in the air and swinging around himself in a complicated and dangerous pattern. Suddenly, as if receiving some secret signal, the two blades lit up with what seemed to be silver reiatsu.

Matsumono and the others stared entranced as the person danced across the water, the reiatsu-enflamed swords and grace of the persons' movements creating an other-worldly image. Bits of reiatsu were flaking off and trailing behind him, staying lit for a moment and then fading away, looking like stars.

"Beautiful…" Matsumono whispered, not wanting to break the spell. Beside her, both Kira and Renji nodded.

"I think…It looks like a kata of some type…" Kira said softly.

"You think so?" Renji asked, glancing over at his blond companion.

"Yes, and a well-mastered one at that. I saw something like this once before, when I was on a mission to the human world, a place called Konoha. I met up with a Shinobi there; he was practicing something like this and allowed me to watch it." Kira said softly, voice barely a whisper.

"So, this guy is doing some kind of strange Shinobi kata?" Renji asked.

Kira nodded and shifted his weight to get a better view.

_'CRACK!'_

Kira froze as he felt the twig under his hand snap loudly. He turned and gave a sheepish grin to his two glaring companions.

The strange man on the water stopped his kata and looked toward the bushes where the sound came from.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hanataro landed softly on the grass beside the lake, not making a sound. He looked at the shirt he had grabbed and hastily slipped it on.

_'I can't believe that I was walking around without a shirt! How careless can I get?' _he asked himself crossly. It wasn't that he didn't mind being without a shirt, it was just that he rather not come up with an excuse for all of his scars he still had.

Chuckling slightly, he walked calmly out onto the center of the lake and assumed the starting stance for the kata he was going to do.

He quickly fell into the rhythm and pattern of the kata and allowed everything else fade away. He let his mind to drift as his body went through the motions that it had done countless times before. Slowly, he increased his speed until the blades were nothing more than silver-colored blurs.

Grinning slightly, he started channeling his reiatsu along his blades. He felt rather then saw his blades light up, glowing with sliver-blue flames.

A loud _'CRACK'_ snapped Hanataro out of his trance. He spun around, facing the bushes where the sound had originated from.

He could feel three different reiatsu coming from the bushes, more specifically the reiatsu of the three vice-captains of the 10th, 6th and 3rd divisions.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kira froze while Matsumono and Renji glared at him. The man on the lake turned to face the bushes fully, swords held loosely at his side.

"Oh shi-"Renji said softly, only to have two hands cover his mouth at the same time.

"Shut up Renji!" Rangiku hissed into his ear.

The strange swordsman paused a moment longer on the surface of the lake, watching the bushes where the trio were concealed.

Rangiku looked at the Swordsman, trying to get a good look at him, to see if she recognized him from anywhere.

Unfortunately for her, his back was to the moon, casting his face into shadows. Squinting, she could make out his face just enough to see his mouth twitch just enough for a smile before he disappeared.

Rangiku and the others stared in shock at the space the mysterious man was.

"Did…did you see that? He just disappeared!" Renji said, pointing at the spot where the person was standing.

"Yeah…how did he do that? I know he didn't use enough reiatsu for Shunpo." Kira said, eyes wide.

Rangiku was silent.

"Hey, Matsumono, what's up?" Renji asked looking at her. She had a look of utter confusion on her face.

"He smiled…when he disappeared he was smiling, but his eyes were so sad…" She said softly.

"Huh? Smiling but sad?" Renji asked in confusion, "How the hell did you see it anyway? It's way too dark to see anything." He said, dismissing what she said immediately.

Rangiku glared at him. She knew what she saw. She didn't need to see clearly to know that the person was very sad, call it a Maternal Instinct.

The trio made their way back to the path and continued on to their divisions, unaware that the mysterious dancer was watching them.

Hanataro watched from the top of the tree as the three stumbled along the path, _'Smiling but sad…'_ he chuckled slightly and shook his head at what Rangiku had said, _'She either has good sigh,__ is an __empath, or both,' _he thought as he started back to his division.

* * *

**End of **

* * *

**Sorry that this one took longer ****than**** normal, but I've had a minor case of writers' block. **

**-**

**-**

**As always, please leave a review, and give some ideas!**


	6. As the Wheel Turns

Yay, two reviews for chapter 5, so pleased…

* * *

Chapter 6: As the Wheel Turns

* * *

"Ya know, things are starting to heat up around Soul Society." Kai said, keeping his eyes forward, watching the practice session in the front yard. Beside him, Hanataro "Hmm"ed. 

"We won't be able to keep our skills hidden forever, you know that, right?"

Again, Hanataro "Hmm"ed.

Kai turned away from the bumbling trainees and glared at his former Captain.

"Damn it Yui, these people only know how to fight _Hollows_. You know I've been getting reports of mass disappearances in Rugonkai. The people that disappeared were bandits, rouges and Shinobi. That's the reason Soul Society has turned a blind eye to it all. The Shinobi that disappeared were mostly from Oto or Iwa and had been terrorizing the general populace for ages." Kai hissed, golden eyes narrowing.

Hanataro sighed, "Where are you going with this Kai?" he asked

"You know damn well where I'm going with this, Yui. These two incidents-Aizen's betrayal and the disappearances are too close together for comfort. There is a very good chance that Aizen has been gathering an army of regular humans-or is planning to bolster his forces of Hollows by creating new ones, possibly both."

Hanataro froze, he knew that Kai was dead serious, him using his birth name was proof of that.

"Kai… I understand what you're saying but… we fought our war. Do you even remember how many you killed? We each have killed at least three hundred enemy Shinobi in the years that I fought with you, possibly more. I have no desire to add to the blood on my hands." Hanataro said, turning dark, somber eyes on Kai.

Kai stood there, silent. Hanataro was right, they had killed many Shinobi, well over three hundred.

Hanataro sighed and stood up, slinging his medical pack onto his shoulder and dusted himself off.

"We've fought our war. We've destroyed, killed, injured, been _tortured _by some of Oto's best…and all for nothing. In the end, Konoha was still destroyed."

"But there are still-"Kai started to say but was unable to finish as Hanataro had already left.

"But there are still people that need you to protect them." Kai said to the empty air. He sighed and leaned back against the wall. "You…you're right…but what happened then is over…now…we have the chance to make sure that it won't happen again. Are you still so stuck in the past that you can't see your precious people here?" Kai whispered. And with that, he disappeared as well.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"What do you mean Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Arabari disappeared!" Yamamoto thundered.

All of the gathered captains flinched as his reiatsu flared uncomfortably.

"Captain Kuchiki-I trust you had no knowledge of this…" Yamamoto said, turning on the icy Kuchiki head, his reiatsu flaring again. The Kuchiki head found it harder to breath, let alone answer his question. Yamamoto sighed and lowered his reiatsu.

"I assume that they went after Ichigo Kurosaki who went after Orihimi Inoue." He looked over the gathered Captains, "There is nothing that can be done about them now-they have made their choice. Send on one after them, I will decide what to do with them if they come back."

Yamamoto stood, "Be on your guard-Aizen's forces have begun to move. There have been reports of humans with abnormal powers-and devastating attacks using reiatsu along with hand signs, they are calling themselves 'Shinobi'." Yamamoto warned "You are dismissed."

Captain Ukitake's eyes widened slightly at the last bit of information, he glanced over to Captain Unohana and came to a decision. He was going to have a talk with one Hanataro Yamada very soon.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"What?! Renji-san and Rukia-san went after Inoue-san too?"

"That's not what I heard, I-"

"Are they going to be tried as traitors?"

Kai listened to all of this as he sipped his cup of sake.

"So, I assume you've been listening in," Kai looked up as Vice-Captain Nanao Ise dropped into the seat in front of him.

"Any news from the Council?" She asked, not wasting any time with pleasant conversation.

"None-or at least nothing good. There have been more disappearances, and a good number of them were Jonin level." He replied, downing the last of his sake and pouring himself another cup.

"More solders for his army." Nano thought out loud, "Hmm…keep me posted, I have a feeling that the Shinobi of Soul Society may be needed soon."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Ok, this time I'm going to teach you two something different." Hanataro said.

"What is it?" Sentaro said, looking up from his stretches.

"I'm going to teach you how Shinobi traveled. Around my village, the trees reached hundreds of feet into the air. We made use of this by learning to jump from branch to branch at high speeds."

"So, it's kinda like Shunpo?" Kiyone asked.

"No, not at first. In time, you could get up to that kind of speed, but not at first. What you do is you use your reiatsu to enhance you muscles. Gather it to your legs and jump, flaring it at the same time." Hanataro instructed.

Stepping back, he watched as the two gathered their reiatsu and forced it into their legs. Then they jumped up, not expecting to jump up very far. To their great surprise, they jumped up about fifty feet into the air.

"HEY! REMEMBER TO CUSION YOUR FALL WITH REIATSU LIKE I TOUGHT YOU IN THE TUNNELS!" Hanataro yelled up to his panicking students.

Coming to their since, the two of them gathered their reiatsu into a protective cushion around them.

"Hehe…sorry, forgot to tell you to be careful about how much reiatsu you put into your jumps…" Hanataro said while rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"You…forgot…to tell…us…" Kiyone repeated slowly. Hanataro's danger senses went off, partial because it was the same thing Tsunade-baa-chan did when she was pissed at someone, and partially because of the anger mark ticking madly away on Kiyone's forehead.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Hanataro said nervously, waiving his hands in front of him.

It was little use as Kiyone lost it and started running at Hanataro.

Sentaro sat down where he was standing, watching Kiyone chase their teacher around the edge of the clearing. From where he was, he could see that Kiyone had started using her reiatsu to help her run faster.

"Well, this is something you don't see every day," remarked a mysterious voice beside him.

Sentaro nodded absently, then froze. Turning his head to the side he saw a grinning red-haired, golden eyed young man leaning towards him.

Sentaro yelled and tried to leap backwards, before realizing that he was sitting down and ended up lying on his side on the ground.

"Sorry, did I scare ya'?" He asked, not sounding sorry at all. "Name's Kai. So you're one of the brats that the Captain's been training,"

"Hey! I'm not a brat!" Sentaro shot back at the grinning red-head, "And what do you mean, 'Captain'?" he asked, momentarily forgetting his anger.

"So he didn't tell you? Not surprised." Kai said, sighing. Turning to where Kiyone and Hanataro were, the former having chased the latter up a tree and was hanging upside down on one of the higher branches.

"Oi! Yamada, c'mere!" he called out.

Hanataro looked up and grinned slightly. He released the reiatsu that was holding him to the tree and fell gracefully to the ground.

"Why are you here?" He asked, walking up to where Kai was, a confused Kiyone following him.

"Captain Ukitake wants to talk to you, he's waiting in Captain Unohana's office." Kai replied, pointing a finger behind him in the general direction of Captain Unohana's office.

"Oh, ok. Hey, can you do me a favor? I was planning on teaching them how to tree-jump, think you could supervise for me? They already know what to do, mostly, so it shouldn't be too hard." Hanataro said.

Kai sighed, "Fine, fine…get a move on it, Captain Ukitake looked like he was in a hurry." He said, waving him off.

Hanataro smiled slightly and handed both Sentaro and Kiyone a set of scrolls. "Here are the Jutsu you are to study, as well as some things I want you to practice."

Sentaro and Kiyone took the scrolls and put them into the pack that they had brought lunch in.

"Thanks Kai!" Hanataro yelled as he ran off through the trees.

Kai shook his head in amusement, "Ok brats- gather 'round 'cause I'll only say this once!"

Sentaro and Kiyone suddenly felt a chill go down their spine as they saw the glint in their temporary teacher's eyes.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"You asked to see me?" Hanataro said as he stepped into the room. Captain Ukitake and Captain Unohana were sitting across from each other, sipping green tea.

"Ah, Hanataro, come sit." Captain Unohana said, gesturing to an empty cushion and a cup of green tea.

Sitting down, Hanataro asked "What was it that you needed?"

"Information." Captain Ukitake said firmly, "There have been reports of strange people with devastating attacks calling themselves 'Shinobi'. I need to know what I'm up against and anything you know would be a great help."

"So he was right," Hanataro said softly to himself, he reached into the folds of his robes and pulled out a thick book and passed it to Captain Ukitake. "This is what is called a 'Bingo Book'. It lists all of the rouge Shinobi, their level, what they've done, the bounty and where they were last seen and other stuff like that. Most of the Shinobi that you are going to fight are listed in the Bingo Book."

Captain Ukitake opened the book to one of the first pages. It had a picture of a rugged man off to the side. He glanced at the picture for a moment before going on to read the information contained on that page.

**Name: ****Sensuki**** Yakitori**

**Village:**** Iwa**

**Rank:**** Jonin**

**Class:**** B+**

**Bounty:**** $ 5,000.00 **

**Known Jutsu:****Dokugiri****Doton****Kekkai****Dorodomu****Doton****Iwayado****Kuzushi****Doton****Yomi****Numa**

**Last Seen:**** Rugonkai 57****th**** district south**

"This is somewhat out of date, but it should help you a bit," Hanataro said, "I'll be getting an updated one in a few weeks. It should list who has disappeared and who hasn't. You can keep that one for now though."

Captain Ukitake nodded, flipping through the book.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Ukitake walked back through the streets to his office, nose still in the Bingo Book.

Hanataro had explained that the Shinobi still kept in contact with one another, through the main councle that ruled from district 80, Zaraki. From there, it recieved information from every other district, offering boutneys for the rouge Shinobi and basicly making sure that they didn't cause too much trouble. That was the reason for the Bingo Book.

He looked up from the book for a moment to find that he had just passed through the gates to his division. Chuckling slightly, he marked his page and tucked the book away.

He arrived in his office to find his two third seats somewhat ragged and lying limply across his furniture.

"What happened to the two of you? You look like you were battling Hollows all day." Captain Ukitake said amused.

The two groaned in unison .

"I wish. Fighting Hollows all day would have been easier." Kiyone said, draping an arm across her eyes to block out the light coming from the lantern that Captain Ukitake lit.

"Hana-sensei asked this person named Kai to help us with our training while he was gone. We were going to learn how to travel vast distances like Shinobi." Sentaro said, trying to move as little as possible.

"Basically, you use your reiatsu to enhance your physical strength. In this case, we would focus it on our legs and flare it when we jumped to gain height and distance." Kiyone explained.

"It wasn't bad when it was just jumping from tree to tree, but then he started throwing both Kido and Jutsu at us."

"And it didn't matter how fast we went, he was right on top of us the whole way!" Sentaro complained.

"Well, seems like the two of you had an interesting day," Captain Ukitake said, grinning slightly at the two doing their best to impersonate noodles.

Sentaro and Kiyone could only groan as their captain left the room, turning down the lamp as he did so.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Give Orihimi back-NOW!" Ichigo shouted at Aizen. He was injured and bloody all over. There was a cut above his left eye that refused to stop bleeding.

"And why would I do that?" Aizen asked, immensely enjoying the frustration and anger on Ichigo's face.

"Because if you don't, I'll slash you into pieces!" Ichigo threatened.

"You are in no position to do that, my young and idiotic friend." Aizen said laughingly, "And besides that, my business partner has quite the interest in your friend."

"And who the Hell would work with you?""That would be me," said a voice from the shadows. A man as tall as Aizen stepped out of the shadows. He had long black hair and glinting golden eyes. His skin was pale and there were two purple marks coming down from his eyes. "My name is Orochimaru."

Nell watched in horror from behind the rubble of what was once a column as Ichigo was beaten to a pulp by the mysterious Orochimaru.

Finally, Orochimaru and Aizen tired of beating him up and left, leaving a bloody and near-dead Ichigo on the floor.

As soon as they were gone, Nell made her move. She ran over to Ichigo and started desperately trying to heal his wounds. Unfortunately, they were too deep for her to heal. The small toddler knew that there was only one chance for Ichigo.

She summoned up all of her strength and focused as hard as she could on soul society.

Dark wisps of energy floated around the two as Nell focused. She felt herself and Ichigo start to disappear and redoubled her efforts. Suddenly, she was seeing pristine white walls and a clear blue sky.

There were people-Shinigami-running to her and Ichigo.

"Help him, please..." She said to the man in front before darkness invaded her vision and she knew no more.


	7. Choices

Chapter 7: Choices

* * *

Nell waited silently in one of the prison cells in division 6. She had been escorted there under heavy guard while Ichigo was rushed straight to Captain Unohana for emergency medical treatment. The small girl sighed, she had been here for ages…or what seemed like ages to the small girl. So far, nobody had walked past the door to her cell, so she didn't know how Ichigo was doing. 

The soft _'tap…tap…__tap'_ of footsteps drew her attention as a trio of figures approached the cell.

One was a kid with spiky white hair and aqua-green eyes.

One was a pretty lady with long silky hair braided in front of her.

The last was another pretty lady with big boobs and reddish-blond hair and a pink scarf.

"Is Ichigo-san ok?" The arrancar girl asked immediately.

The lady in the middle smiled softly, "Yes, Kurosaki-san is going to be alright. You were the one to bring him here, correct?"

Nell nodded and walked up to the door of her cell. "Who are you?" She asked looking at the three of them.

"My name is Captain Retsu Unohana of 4th division," The braid-lady said gently, kneeling down to Nell's level. The strawberry-blond introduced herself as Rangiku Matsumono and the white-haired boy introduced himself as Captain Hitsugaya.

"My name's Nell Tu!" She said, introducing herself.

"It's very nice to meet you, Nell-chan," Captain Unohana said as Rangiku giggled at the girls' antics, "Why did you bring Kurosaki-san here with yourself? Surely you knew that Soul Society isn't a very safe place for an Arrancar, especially a young one like yourself…"

"Ichigo-san was hurt." Nell said simply.

"You mean you willingly came all the way into Soul Society because he was hurt? " Rangiku said, kneeling down so that she could look the small girl in the eyes.

"Unhuh." Nell said, nodding.

Rangiku smiled, the girl seemed nice enough-like a normal toddler. Defiantly not here to destroy anything.

"Humph, Matsumono, remember that we aren't here to socialize. We're just here to determine if she's a threat or not." Captain Hitsugaya said irritably, crossing his arms.

"Oh, don't be such a sour-puss, there's no reason why we can't stay and talk for a while. I'm sure that Nell-chan won't mind, seeing as we're the only people to visit her," Rangiku said, dismissing her Captain's words with a wave of her hand, "And besides, she's just a toddler, Arrancar or not. If Aizen was going to use someone as a spy, then wouldn't he use someone older? As it is, she could barely transport the two of them out of Hueco Mundo, so it isn't like she's a threat at all." Rangiku explained, grinning as an anger mark made itself know on her Captain's head. "See, there's no reason why we can't get to know her better. And I bet that she hasn't got to know much other female company, so it's really beneficial if we stay and talk with her for a while."

Nell nodded eagerly, the two ladies seemed really nice and there was nothing for her to do in the cell anyway.

Captain Hitsugaya 'humph'ed again and resigned himself to waiting for the trio-mostly Nell and Rangiku-to finish their meaningless chatter.

Leaning against the opposite wall, he had to concede the fact that Rangiku could be correct-he hardly thought that a toddler would be any danger to Soul Society, especially one that didn't even have enough energy for one of the Arrancar's basic moves.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Later That Day:

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Captain Unohana, Captain Hitsugaya- Your report on the Arrancar that appeared with Ichigo Kurosaki." General Yamamoto said after the normal business had been completed.

The two mentioned Captain stood; Captain Hitsugaya started "We talked with the Arrancar-Nell Tu- about her reasons for coming to Soul Society. She said that she came because Ichigo was a Shinigami and she couldn't heal him herself and it was the only safe place that she could take him that she knew of." The Captain of the tenth division shrugged.

"Nell-san is nothing more than a normal toddler. She has asked repeatedly if Kurosaki-san is alright and if she could go visit him." Captain Unohana said smiling slightly, "It is my professional opinion that it would be beneficial for Nell to become a ward of the fourth division in order to speed Kurosaki-san's healing."

As expected there was an immediate uproar of disagreement from the other captains.

"You want us to allow an Arrancar to wander freely around Soul Society?" Captain Soi Fon of the 2nd division yelled disbelievingly.

"Are you serious? The brat could annihilate us all!" Captain Kurotsuchi of the 12th division thundered, pounding his fist on the table.

**"SILENCE!"** General Yamamoto thundered. The assembled captains fell silent immediately.

"Hey, I got an idea," Captain Kyoraku of the 8th division said from his position.

"And what would that be?" General Yamamoto asked from his place at the head of the table, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"Simple, each of the captains and vice-captains go to visit Nell. That way, they can determine if she's a threat or not for themselves." He said reasonably. All of the captains looked at him.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked, oblivious of the disbelieving stares that he was receiving.

"No, it's just surprising to hear you come up with a good idea." Captain Hitsugaya said coldly.

"Aww…you wound me, Shiro-kun."

"Don't call me 'Shiro-kun'." He snapped irritably.

"Enough all of you." General Yamamoto said tiredly, causing both of the captains to quit squabbling.

"We will do as Captain Kyoraku has suggested. Captain Ukitake-you and both of your third seats will go first, we will work down from there."

And with that, the meeting was over and the captains went off to do whatever they did.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

13TH DIVISION

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-.-

Jushiro Ukitake and his two third seats walked into the prison cell complex slowly, not sure what to expect. Coming upon the cell, they were greeted with the sight of a small toddler with a cartoon-skull mask on her head. She had light green hair, a kind of sea green color, and a scar that came down her face between her eyes and curved off to the left side of her nose. There was a pink mark that went across her nose as well. She was dressed in a plain brown sack like dress with a hood hanging down the back.

"Hi!" the girl chirped, "are you here to talk to me? It gets boring here with no one to talk with." The Arrancar girl stated mater-of-fact.

"Yes…I am Captain Jushiro Ukitake of Division 13, these are my two third-seats, Sentaro Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu. It's very nice to meet you." Captain Ukitake said, off balance slightly.

"When is Ichigo-san going to come and see me?" Nell asked, whining slightly.

"Ichigo-san is still really hurt-it will be a while before he can come in," Kiyone said sitting down in front of the gate.

"Aww…" the small girl pouted.

Captain Ukitake couldn't help it. She reminded him of his younger siblings so much that the action was purely reflex. "Here, you want a piece of candy?"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

11th DIVISION

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The sound of bells woke Nell from her nap some time later.

Coming down the hall was a very tall man with a pink… something on his shoulder.

"Well, when they said that there was an Arrancar down here, I expected someone bigger." The tall man said.

"Ken-chan, don't be mean," the pink haired girl said, jumping down to the floor.

Nell looked at the visitors with interest, she had never seen people like this before. "Who are you?" she asked, studying the new people.

"I'm Yachiru Kusajishi and this is Ken-chan!" the pink haired girl said happily. The man behind her grumbled, "My name is Kenpachi Zaraki."

"Oh, I'm Nell Tu!" she said as she studied the two new strangers.

"So are you really an Arrancar?" the pink haired one-Yachiru-asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Well, I thought that all of the Arrancar were suppose to be really strong fighters and really scary too, but you don't really seem like that much of a fighter…" Yachiru trailed off, thinking.

"That's cause I'm not a fighter. I'm too young to fight, or that's what my brothers said." Nell answered honestly.

"You're an Arrancar that can't fight?" Captain Zaraki snorted disbelievingly. "How useless is that?"

"Ken-chan! Don't be rude!" Yachiru scolded. She grinned at the confused girl, "So, when ya get out of here, do ya wanna play with me?"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

8th DIVISION

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Aww, look at her, isn't she cute?"

Nell awoke to see two people looking down on her, one was dressed in a pink haori and a round straw hat. Beside him was a serious-looking lady with icy dark purple eyes and black hair done neatly held up with clips.

"Captain Kyoraku, whether she is 'cute' or not is not the point. We are here to determine whether she is a threat to Soul Society or not." The lady said firmly, glaring at the man beside her.

Nell blinked her eyes sleepily. She yawned and stretched, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes.

"Who're you?" She asked, yawning again.

"I'm Captain Shunsui Kyoraku of 8th division, and this is my lovely Nanao-chan." Captain Kyoraku said. The lady whipped out a fan and whapped Captain Kyoraku soundly over the head. "My name is Nanao Ise, Vice-Captain of 8th Division, _not_ 'Nanao-chan'." The lady said icily.

Nell watched in amazement as the lady reprimanded the bigger man, and the resulting pout that came from said man. She started giggling, quietly at first, but it steadily grew louder until it drew the attention of the two on the other side of the bars.

"And what is so funny?" Nanao asked, pushing up her glasses and trying to suppress a grin of her own. Seeing the toddler laugh had the odd effect of making her want to laugh as well.

"You are!" she managed between giggles, "You fight like married people,"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

7th DIVISION

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Captain, are you sure about this?" Tetsuzaemon Iba asked his captain as they approached the cell holding the Arrancar.

"Yes. According to what the others have said, she is harmless. However, our orders were to determine this for ourselves."

They were met with the sight of an extremely bored Nell Tu sitting by the bars of the cell.

She looked up almost instantly when the two came to stop in front of her cell.

She could only look in amazement as the large fox-like captain looked down on her. Blinking, she tilted her head to the side curiously, still keeping her eyes locked on the tall fox-like person.

Captain Komamura found himself tilting his head in a similar fashion.

Vice-Captain Iba looked between the two tilting their heads one way, then the other and broke out into laughter which he hastily tried to cover by making it seem like he was coughing.

"Hey! Stop laughing at me!" Nell demanded, stomping her foot and glaring at the guffawing Shinigami. Captain Komamura settled for glaring at his Vice-Captain.

"Sorry," Iba managed to spout out between suppressed laughs, "But the two of you were…" he broke out in suppressed laughter again.

The two looked at each other, blinking. Nell suddenly started laughing as well. Captain Komamura thought for a moment, imagining what the two of them must have looked like, tilting their heads side to side like that. He started laughing as well.

The three laughed together for a moment before a loud gurgling sound interrupted them.

Nell frowned and wrapped her arms around her stomach as it growled again.

"Heh, looks like you're hungry." Iba observed, "Anyone bring you anything to eat yet?" he asked. Nell shook her head.

"Captain Ukitake gave me some candy though," she said, pulling out said piece of candy.

"Do ya want some?" She asked, offering it out to the large Shinigami Captain.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

6th DIVISION

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Nell was eating from a bento that had been dropped by a few minutes later when the tell-tale _'tap…tap'_ of another visitor sounded through the hall.

She set her half-eaten bento aside and waited for the people to reach her cell.

The first one was a tall man with strange white things in his hair and a scarf around his neck.

The second was another man, but this one had long crimson hair that was tied back into a spiky pony-tail in the middle of his head. He had tattoos for eyebrows, which amused Nell who giggled slightly when she saw him.

"Hey! What's so funny, gaki?" Renji demanded.

Nell suppressed her giggles with great difficulty and answered him with: "You have fake eyebrows,"

Beside Renji, Captain Kuchiki felt his lips give a traitorous twitch in response to the child Arrancar's answer.

He watched as his Vice-Captain and the Arrancar argued back and forth about his tattoos and whether they counted as eyebrows or not.

"Arabari-that's enough! We have paperwork waiting for us." He said when he had seen enough to make his decision.

As the two of them started walking down the hall he heard the small Arrancar call after them.

"Wait! What's your name?"

"My name is Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of the 6th Division." He said, turning his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder.

"I'm Nell Tu! It was nice to meet you!"

Captain Kuchiki felt his lips give another traitorous twitch.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Have all of the Captains and Vice-Captains met with the Arrancar, Nell Tu?" General Yamamoto asked the assembled captains.

There was the sound of various agreements throughout the room.

"Who here has determined that the Arrancar Nell Tu is a threat?"

Marechiyo Omaeda was the only one to raise his hand. Z

"Wha? Come on. Child-like or not, she is still an Arrancar! We can't allow her to walk all over Soul Society!"

"Yes, and if you had half a brain, you would have noticed that her reiatsu levels aren't more than your average upper level Hollow." Captain Hitsugaya said coldly.

"But still-"

"She does not possess enough power to be a threat. Sit down." Captain Kuchiki said softly from his seat.

"All those who have determined that she is not a threat?"

The rest of the hands rose, granted some of them slower than others.

"It has been decided, the Arrancar Nell Tu is not a threat to Soul Society. Now, does anyone have any idea as to what we should do with her?" General Yamamoto asked the assembled Captains and Vice-Captains.

Captain Unohana stood, "May I ask that she become a ward of the 4th division?" she asked.

The Captains and Vice-Captains all looked at her. A good portion looked like they thought she was crazy.

"What? You want to take the Arrancar into your division? Are you insane?" One of the captains yelled at her. Similar shouts soon filled the air. Manny were calling for the Arrancar to be left alone in the cell.

**"SILENCE!****"** General Yamamoto yelled. The assembled Shinigami quieted immediately.

"Captain Unohana, would you mind explaining yourself," Though it was phrased as a question, there was no doubt that it was a demand.

Captain Unohana, in her favor, didn't lose her cool as all eyes turned on her, demanding an explanation. "I believe that 4th Division would be the best place for Nell because of her attachment to Kurosaki-san. Kurosaki-san woke up for a brief moment today, I was able to tell him that Nell was here, the next words out of his mouth were 'Let me see her, is she alright'. I believe that having Nell nearby would help Kurosaki-san's healing greatly."

General Yamamoto thought for a moment…4th Division…as good a place as any, and if the Arrancar did start attacking, they wouldn't lose any fighters…he made his decision.

"Very well. The Arrancar Nell Tu will be transferred to the 4th Division as a ward. Captain Unohana, you are to send in a report weekly as to her behavior and what she does. Have some of your division members keep an eye on her at all times. Meeting adjourned."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Unohana walked down to the cell where Nell was staying.

"Captain Unohana!" Nell's happy voice greeted her as she smiled kindly down at the child. She wasn't fool enough not to know why the General had agreed to her request so easily. But either way, she knew things about her division that nobody else did; namely that there were more Shinobi here in Soul Society then anyone other non-Shinobi thought. She kneeled down to look Nell in the eyes and said "Nell, it has been decided that you are to stay in the 4th Division. Do you mind?" she asked gently.

Nell shook her head 'no'. "4th Division is where Ichigo-san is staying!"

Captain Unohana hid a grin behind her hand, she should have known.

She stood and unlocked the cell door and watched as Nell bounced around outside the cell. She took Nell by the hand and led the small child to the 4th Division.

She could tell that things were about to get very interesting, very soon.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Done!

I think that this is the longest chapter that I have done yet!

**NOTE: Just because the Captains and Vice-Captains decided that she isn't a threat, doesn't mean that they like her! You'll find out who likes her and who doesn't later on-I just wanted to be clear on this one point.**

Read and review-please?


	8. Past Comes to Call

Thanks for the great reviews!

Chapter 8: Past Comes to Call

Hanataro was sweeping the front of the hospital when Captain Unohana entered, along with a small something clinging to her hand.

"Ah, Hanataro, just the person that I wanted to see." Captain Unohana said upon spotting him.

"Huh? You wanted to see me?" He asked, bewildered.

"Nell, would you stay here for a moment?" she asked, ignoring him for a moment to speak with the small girl. Hanataro looked at the girl and inhaled sharply at the cartoony mask that was on top of her head.

Captain Unohana left Nell looking at a plant while she walked up to Hanataro.

"Captain, is she-"

"Yes. She is an Arrancar, but she doesn't have the powers of one. She is to stay at the 4th Division for a while. I would like to ask that you watch over her." She said, eyes tracking Nell's movements. Thankfully, it was later in the day, and nobody was there. "She isn't any stronger then a Hollow, but I'm afraid that not everyone will see this and…" She trailed off, worry for the child shining clear in both her words and her eyes.

Hanataro smiled, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her."

This time it was Captain Unohana's turn to smile, her entire body seeming to go slack with relief, "Thank you, I am sorry to ask this of you."

Hanataro shook his head, "Don't worry about it, if it wasn't for you, I probably would have killed myself by now. Besides, it shouldn't be too much trouble to take care of her."

"One more thing, she will have to stay in your room, I don't have anywhere else to put her and I'm worried that someone will try to kill her." Captain Unohana said sadly.

Hanataro swallowed dryly, now things were starting to get complicated, _'If worse comes to worse, I can sleep on the roof,'_ he decided.

"I understand."

"If you want, I could give you some sleep medication…"

Hanataro shook his head, "No, it would make me too slow to respond if someone did try to sneak in."

"I…understand. Again, I'm sorry." Captain Unohana said.

"Nell, come here please," She called to the girl that was now climbing on one of the couches to look out of the window.

"Coming!" Nell said as she scampered off of the couch.

"Nell, this is Hanataro Yamada. He will be taking care of you while you stay here." She said, pushing the small girl towards Hanataro.

The Arrancar, Nell, hid herself behind Captain Unohana. Hanataro grinned and kneeled down, "Nice to meet you, Nell-chan. Are you hungry?" He asked, smiling pleasantly. Slowly, Nell stepped out of Captain Unohana's shadow. She looked at the newcomer carefully.

The boy in front of her was thin, almost scrawny looking. His hair was black, strands of hair falling into his eyes and looked like it was cut with a knife. He was in the same clothes that everyone else was in, though he was wearing a pack across his back, held there by a cloth strap. She looked him straight in the eyes, there was a flicker of…something…but before she could figure it out he smiled, both eyes curving up into upside down 'U' shapes.

Nell slowly returned the grin, something about this person immediately put her at ease. She grinned back at the Shinigami, "Yeah!" she chirped, walking out from behind Captain Unohana. Hanataro stood and offered his hand to the girl. Nell happily took his hand and waved to Captain Unohana. Hanataro bowed slightly to her, saying, "If you don't mind Captain, I'd like to get Nell-chan settled."

Captain Unohana smiled, "No, not at all. I shall see you later, alright Nell?" She said. Nell nodded happily.

She watched happily as Hanataro and Nell walked down the hall in the direction of the barracks, the later of the two skipping happily.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro watched, amusement shining in his eyes, as Nell worked her way steadily through a heaping plate of food in the 4th division cafeteria.

"Hey, Hanataro, what's up?" Kai asked coming up behind Hanataro, spotting Nell and the Hollow mask sitting on her head he asked, "Who is she and what the Hell is she doing here?"

"This is Nell, she's going to be staying with me from now on. Nell-chan, this is Kai no Sabaku. He's kinda like an annoying elder brother." Hanataro said, munching on his own, considerably smaller, lunch.

"She's going to be staying with you?" Kai asked, staring at his, for all intents and purposes, younger brother with something between shock, disbelief and bemusement written all over his face.

"Yup. Captain Unohana decided she would be safer with one of us in case someone tries to kill Nell-chan." Hanataro said, not looking up from his lunch.

"Uh huh, so she's rooming with you?"

Hanataro nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna set up divider curtains or something later," he said, finishing the last of his rice.

Nell finished her plate and looked at the newcomer Hanataro clammed as his brother. He was taller than Hanataro with spiky red hair and golden eyes. Kai turned to see that the brat-Nell- was staring at him.

"What you lookin' at, Gaki?" he asked, leaning forward with his elbow on the table and chin resting on the back of his hand.

"Kai, be nice…" Hanataro warned, hitting him over the head with his fist.

"Oww! What was that for?" Kai growled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Because you were being mean to Nell-chan." Hanataro said, sipping his tea.

"Oh, and that gives you the right to hit me?"

"Yes."

"Bastard."

"I assure you, my parents were happily married."

Nell watched the two argue, and started to giggle. The two stopped their verbal sparring to look at Nell, who was currently laughing so hard she was about to fall off of her bench and onto the floor.

"What's so funny?" Kai asked, a twitch developing above his left eye.

"You two are!" Nell said between bouts of giggles. The two brothers blinked in unison, causing Nell to go into another bout of giggles.

After Nell was able to control her giggling, she asked "Can we go see Ichigo-san now?"

Hanataro set down his chopsticks and folded his hands in front of him. "I don't see why not," he said, standing and brushing imaginary dust off of his hakama.

Nell hopped down from her seat and clamed Hanataro's hand as her own as he led her to where Ichigo was staying. Kai watched the two of them go, a small grin going unnoticed on his face.

"That kid…somehow…your eyes are more alive then what I've seen for years…hope it lasts," he said, finishing his soup.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro led Nell down a long series of halls, finally stopping at a single door. On the other side of the door was a single room, and in that room was a single person. This person was one Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Ichigo-san!" Nell yelled joyfully as she let go of Hanataro and ran to embrace the startled Ichigo.

"N-Nell? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, confused and at the same time happy that she was alright.

"Well, apparently Nell was able to open a gateway between her location and the center of Soul Society. She appeared here with you a few days ago." Hanataro said from the door.

"Hanataro? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, looking up from Nell, who seemed to have attached herself to his shirt.

"Heh, Captain Unohana asked me to look after her while she's here," Hanataro said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Oh, So Nell, How have you been? Everyone has been treating you alright?" Ichigo asked Nell, ignoring Hanataro for the time being.

Hanataro watched in amusement as Nell scolded Ichigo about getting hurt, saying that he was never allowed to get hurt again. He stepped out of the room, leaning against the wall beside the door, allowing the two of them their privacy.

"Hanataro? What are you doing here?" Captain Ukitake asked as he came down the hall, Sentaro and Kiyone following him.

"Me? Nell-chan wanted to visit Ichigo-san so I brought her down to visit him. She's in there now." Hanataro said.

"I see, we need to ask Ichigo some questions about who attacked him. It looked like _snakes_ had been attacking him or something." Captain Ukitake said.

"Snakes?" Hanataro repeated, frowning. His eyes went dark, thinking back to the most dangerous snake user that he knew.

"Is something wrong?" Captain Ukitake asked, noting the abrupt change in expression.

"No, nothing…but…would it be possible to listen in while you ask him about what happened?" Hanataro asked, face carefully blank while his thoughts raced around the inside of his head.

Captain Ukitake looked at the carefully blank face of one Hanataro Yamada and shrugged, almost positive that he knew more then he let on. "Suit yourself," he said and led the group in.

Inside, Nell was happily recounting the adventures that she had had since she had arrived here.

"Captain Ukitake? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, seeing the four of them enter.

"I need to ask you what happened while you were in Hueco Mundo," Captain Ukitake said gently, sitting down on the chair beside Ichigo's bed, "I am sorry to bring this up so soon, but we need to know what we're up against." Captain Ukitake said sadly.

Ichigo's eyes darkened as he nodded slowly. He began to recount their travels through the land of the Hollows.

"…The guy was creepy, no doubt about it. He was really pale, with purple markings on his face and golden eyes, he said his name was Orochimaru-" Ichigo was saying but was cut off when something settled around the room. It was as though he was staring down his inner hollow again, like something was gripping his heart and squeezing it, making him seriously consider killing himself to get rid of the awful feeling. He forced himself to look around the room and was shocked to see that not only was Captain Ukitake, Sentaro and Kiyone feeling it, but the feeling itself seemed to be coming from Hanataro!

"W-What the…" Ichigo stuttered, feeling Nell fist his hospital clothes in her hands and bury her face in his chest.

Hanataro was oblivious to what was going on around him. He wasn't even aware that he was releasing killing intent; luckily, some part of his subconscious reined it in, so it didn't go beyond the walls of the room. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails were digging into the palm of his hands. Blood welled up and dripped onto his hakama. His eyes were clenched tightly shut and his face was twisted into a furious snarl.

"Hanataro!" Captain Ukitake yelled, snapping Hanataro out of his trance. The terrible pressure disappeared instantly, Hanataro's fists unclenched and he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry…I…kinda lost control of myself for a moment…" he said, wiping his bloody palms on his hakama.

"Lost control of… what the Hell was that?" Captain Ukitake sputtered.

Hanataro frowned, "That is what's called 'Killer Intent'. I didn't mean to release so much of it, though. Hearing that the bastard snake is working with Aizen just surprised me."

"Huh? Do you mean you know Orochimaru?" Captain Ukitake asked, surprised.

Hanataro's eyes darkened to a near-obsidian color. "You could say that. He was the leader of the Oto Shinobi army that destroyed Konoha and the other hidden villages." He said slowly.

"Wait, didn't you grow up in…oh…" Kiyone said, trailing off at the end.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo demanded, looking between the two third seats and Hanataro.

Hanataro sighed, "Ichigo, I grew up in Konoha. Orochimaru started his attack on Konoha when I was 5. At the time, I was still in the training academy. In any case, the war officially started when I was 8 and lasted until I died at 18." Hanataro explained shortly in monotone, clearly saying that he wasn't going to say anything else on the subject. Thankfully, Ichigo didn't press the subject, nor did anyone else. However, there was still one thing that bugged him, "Hey, if you died at 18, then shouldn't you be taller than me?"

Hanataro chuckled dryly, "Ichigo, we were on rations a lot of the time, and towards the end of the war the supply lines were cut. Malnutrition set in, so I didn't do all of the growing I should have."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bring up…" Ichigo started to say but was interrupted by Hanataro.

"Don't worry about it. Captain Ukitake, if I may be excused? My brothers need to know about Orochimaru and Aizen's alliance." Hanataro said, standing.

"Of course." Captain Ukitake said, still in slight shock as he watched Hanataro breeze out of the room.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"What is so interesting that you had to call us all together, Brother?" Asked a chilly voice from in front of Hanataro. The voice belonged to Yuri Hayaki. Yuri had pale blue hair and ice blue eyes with pale skin to match.

"Yare, I was planning to go drinking tonight with the guys as well," Said a deeper voice. It belonged to one Akira Tenaka. Akira had emerald green hair and honey colored eyes. He was tall and muscled, not as tall as Kenpachi or Chad, but close. He was also built like a tank, all of this together explained why he was in the 11th.

"You won't want to go drinking when I tell you why you're here," Hanataro warned.

"Yes, why did you call us here?" Kai asked.

Hanataro took a deep breath.

"Aizen and Orochimaru are working together."

The response was instant. The three let off a massive flash of Killing Intent before swiftly reigning it back in. However, it still hung heavy in the clearing that Hanataro had chosen to meet in.

"What?" Akira growled, "That bastard should be burning in _Hell_!"

"Where did you get this information?" Yuri asked, voice colder then the arctic.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Apparently Orochimaru used him as a punching bag and left him for dead. The only reason he's alive now is because of Nell-chan." Hanataro explained.

"Speaking of Nell," Kai started, "Shouldn't you be watching her?"

Hanataro shook his head, "No, I got one of the others to cover for a few hours."

The group nodded, the 'others' translated into one of the known Shinobi.

"Can we get back on topic now?" Yuri demanded irritably. "What do we do about Orochimaru and Aizen?"

"What can we do?" Kai asked bitterly. "Face it Frostbite, there ain't a lot we can do. Hell, we can't even practice our Jutsu without someone from 12th wanting to know how it works, someone from 11th wanting to fight, and everyone else wanting to know what the hell we're doing." He growled, sand lashing about at his feet, testament to how furious he was.

"And it's not like we can go up to the General and say 'Aizen's just teamed up with someone who makes Kurotsuchi look like a saint and is just as powerful and the two of them could destroy the world.' Oh yeah, that would go over well. I don't know about you, but he would demand to know why and I'm willing to bet he doesn't know about the hidden villages. We'd be hauled off to the 4th for mental treatment right away. Or sent to prison." Akira spat out.

"So we're basically screwed until the bastard shows his face." Yuri said, not at all liking the situation.

"Yup. You've heard of the people who've come back from the world of the living with tales of the Shinobi. The Shinigami here don't believe the Shinobi to be a threat at all, because they use a diluted form of reiatsu." Hanataro said. "Unless someone were to offer the Shinigami undeniable proof of a Shinobi's strength, " he shook his head. "However, that isn't a decision that can be made by one person. And it would turn Soul Society on its ear to find that there are warriors with reiatsu of a 4th seat that could fight toe to toe with a Captain. And on top of that, it is known that Shinobi are killers. That's not going to win us any friends." He sighed.

"So we're basically screwed." Kai deadpanned.

"Yup."

"Well, now I gotta tell the rest of my division to be on the lookout. 'Night." Akira said, stretching and walking out of the clearing.

"As do I. Good night Brothers." Yuri said as he made his way back to his division.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Argh! This chapter just would not come out right! goes off to pout in corner.

Schools started up-every Friday we now have a half-hour group therapy session with grades 6 to 12. Sucks ass. The good news is that school should not interfere with chapter updates too much as I can work on new chapters during English class as Mr. Baker drones on and on and on and on and-ok, I think you get the point. Anyway, enough of my bitching, I'll have the next chapter up as soon as my muse comes back from vacation.

Read and review, please and thank-you.

Also, I need secondary/support charas. and my imagination is limited. Help?


	9. Lucifer's Angels

Thanks for all of the awesome reviews!

Chapter inspired by Lucifer's Angle by The Rasmus (Not mine!)

Bleach is owned by Tite Kibo-I'm just borrowing it.

Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto- I'm borrowing it too.

Now you can't sue me!

Chapter 9: Lucifer's Angles

The atmosphere was tense though out Soul Society. Word had gotten out that Aizen was allied with someone by the name of Orochimaru, rumored to be just as strong as Aizen himself. Then there were the monsters that were showing up all over Rugonkai. Terrible monsters had been sighted rampaging along with the Hollows. Reports said that they looked to be horribly mutated humans with no regard for anyone or anything that got in their way.

Hanataro sighed as he poked at his breakfast, still not used to eating three full meals a day.

"What's wrong, Hanataro? Is there something wrong with your food?" Nell asked, concerned. She peered intently at his food, as though searching for something wrong with it, making Hanataro smile.

"No, I'm just not very hungry right now," He said, shoving the plate forward. "You can have it, if you want."

Within seconds, his plate was spotless and Nell was back to inhaling her own food.

He glanced up as Kai sat down across from him. Kai saw Hanataro's empty plate and then at Nell who was happily working her way through her own breakfast and raised an eyebrow. Hanataro shrugged slightly as Kai sighed and ate his own breakfast.

Ichigo was well on his way to recovery and would be able to go back home in a week, or that 's what Captain Unohana had said. This had made Nell very happy because it meant that Ichigo would be able to play with her and Yachiru-chan.

Hanataro groaned thinking of the pink-haired vice captain of the 11th division that had taken a liking to his charge. Speaking of whom…

"Skully-chan!" Came the voice of the vice captain of the 11th division. Nell immediately looked up from her food as a pink haired blur appeared in front of her. The mess hall went dead silent as the pink haired child greeted her newest friend.

"Yachiru-chan!" Nell said happily, abandoning her food. The two girls started talking at once about anything that popped into their heads.

Hanataro groaned. He was hoping that he would have at least another hour to prepare for the disaster that was Nell and Yachiru in the same room.

"Well, look at the time! I have work to do, so I'll see you later, brother." Kai said, picking up his plate and beating a hasty retreat.

"Traitor," Hanataro muttered under his breath. Nell and Yachiru started talking about anything that came into their heads, which eventually led to "Hanataro? Can me and Yachiru go play?"

"And where do you want to play?" He asked carefully.

"We're going to the 11th!" Nell said grinning. Hanataro groaned, while the 11th wasn't bad in the way that Kenpachi would try to kill Nell, it was bad in that it was right beside the 12th. Captain Kurotsuchi had made it quite clear that he wanted Nell for his next research specimen.

On the other hand, he didn't think Yachiru would let her newest friend be taken away easily.

"Ok, go ahead," he sighed, "But make sure you stay together and stay away from the 12th." He said sternly. The two girls shared identical grins and disappeared. Hanataro wondered if he should warn the 11th about the destructive force that was approaching.

"Well, they're gone," Kai said from behind Hanataro.

"And where did you slink off to?" Hanataro asked, resuming the task of eating his breakfast.

"Checking the discharge lists," Kai said grinning. Hanataro raised an eyebrow, "And the third seat let you look at them?"

"Well, he wasn't there to say no, so…" Kai's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"So, find anything worth mentioning?" Hanataro asked, setting aside both his breakfast and his hope of actually finishing it.

Kai held his hands over his heart dramatically, "Oh ye of little faith! Would I dare to bother one such as you without adequate information?"

"Yes." Hanataro replied, voice monotone, "Spit it out, brother."

"Meh, spoilsport. Ok, Within the next two weeks, most of those injured during the ryoka incident should be well enough to leave."

"And? That isn't exactly classified information,"

"Bah, you need to let me finish! I also found records of several Shinigami coming in with mysterious injuries. Hana, they're from something almost exactly like Orochi-teme's monsters."

Hanataro froze, set his hands flat on the table and focused on his breathing. "So. _Those_ things are back. I was hoping that they were nothing but rumors." Hanataro said slowly, forcing himself to remain calm.

"Damn! The Shinigami are gonna get slaughtered." He swore under his breath.

"Oh yeah. They're screwed royally. Unless they willingly accept help from not only us Shinobi, but remove their heads from their asses and learn some new tricks, they're dead. Their kido are good, but they aren't fast enough to hit one of those monsters without a lot of luck involved," Kai agreed. "And you and I know how likely that is. From what I've heard, they think that Shinobi are just cheap imitations that kill for fun or something."

"Kai," Hanataro started to say but was cut off, "Don't worry Hana, I'm not gonna go off on a rampage or anything 'cause the vast majority of the Shinigami population are A-grade bastards."

Kai groaned, "But seriously, Shinigami have been getting seriously out of shape. They rely so much on the barrier walls to keep others out, that they lack any kind of defense on the inner walls aside from the gate guardians. On top of that, they don't have any major competition. Sure, there have been those few who have tried to break away from Soul Society, but they weren't strong enough to send 2nd after them, or were caught before they could leave the gates. Except for Kitsuke-ji and Youruichi-nee."

Hanataro could say nothing. Kai was correct. Shinigami had become complaisant. The only real enemies that they had for hundreds of years were the Hollows and occasional Menos Grande, the standards for becoming Shinigami in the first place had become lax. They were taught that the Hollows were the only enemies that they had to worry about. The Ryoka incident had shaken this belief. Hard.

Hanataro sighed, absently noting that he was sighing a lot nowadays, and picked up his tray. "Kai, there isn't anything any one of us can do. Most Shinobi here aren't above 5th seat. No one has practiced Jutsu since they got here. You remember what happened when one of ours got caught practicing Jutsu? They accused him of playing around with experimental kido and nearly killed him. Then when they found out that he was a Shinobi, they all but chased him out of Soul Society!"

Kai watched as Hanataro left, the beginnings of a cunning plan forming in his head.

_'Maybe by ourselves we can't do anything, but if there were too many of us to exile…'_ Kai grinned. This would require both careful planning and the help of several others…

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Let me get this straight," Yuri looked his 'brother' in the eye, "You want me to start planning a way to get all of the Shinobi of Soul Society together, in one place."

Kai nodded.

"You're insane." Your monotone, "You're insane and this is the first time I noticed it."

"Ne, probably," Kai agreed, smiling, "But it's not like you'll be doing this on your own," he pointed out.

"And who would be crazy enough to agree to help with your hair-brained scheme?"

Before Kai could answer, a dry voice from the door said, "You had better have a good reason for calling me all the way out here."

Vice-Captain Nanao Ise stepped into the room, arms crossed and frowning.

Yuri looked between the two of them, eyes stopping on Kai and said "You're kidding."

Kai smirked, "I kid you not. Now, down to business."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Later:

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

While Kai, Yuri and Nanao were scheming, Hanataro was working on and equally difficult task. Finding Nell in the middle of the 11th division.

"Nell! Nell where are you?" He called again. It was getting late, the sun already setting and turning the sky a beautiful red-orange.

"Oi! What's a 4th division pipsqueak doing all the way out here in the middle of the 11th?" a voice from behind him said. Turning around, he recognized the speaker as Ikkaku Madrame.

"Oh, Madrame-san! I was looking for Nell-chan. It's getting kinda late and she hasn't come back to the 4th and I was getting kinda worried." Hanataro explained. Ikkaku frowned, " Nell? You mean the Arrancar brat that's hanging around the Vice-Captain?"

Hanataro nodded.

"C'mon, she's this way." Ikkaku said, motioning carelessly for Hanataro to follow him.

They walked in silence for a while, only to have it broken by Ikkaku himself. "So, you're the one who's keeping an eye on Nell?" Though it was phrased as a statement, it was said as a question.

"Yes, I am." He said, "Why do you ask?"

Ikkaku shrugged, "No reason, just woulda thought that one of the higher-ranked officers would be watching her."

Hanataro suppressed a grin, "Captain Unohana has her reasons."

Ikkaku looked at his temporary companion, but wasn't able to say anything as they had arrived at the 11th division HQ.

Before the two of them could step into the offices, the door flew open and a green-haired blur slammed into Hanataro. "Nell? What" Hanataro started to say but froze when he felt her shake and the muffled sounds of sobs. Frowning slightly, he pried Nell off of him, kneeled down and set her in front of him.

"Nell, what happened? What's got you so upset?" he asked softly, wiping away her tears with his hand.

"T-the cr-creapy guy f-f-from 12th s-s-said t-that h-he w-wo-would c-c-c-ut me op-open t-to s-s-see wha-what m-made me w-w-work and-" Nell sobbed out, tears pouring down her face. Hanataro didn't need to hear any more, he understood all too well what Captain Kurotsuchi would have said to the toddler. He said nothing, but wrapped his arms around the girl and allowed her to cry into his robes.

"Captain Zaraki, do you know what happened?" Hanataro asked, keeping his arms wrapped protectively around Nell.

Captain Zaraki stood in the doorway to his office, the pink haired Vice-Captain clinging to his shoulder looking worriedly at her newest friend.

"Bastard came around here and started going on about all kinds of experiments he was planning for her. Kept going on and on, probably woulda kept going if he wasn't interrupted." Kenpachi grinned, leaving no room to doubt how he was interrupted. He spat off to the side, clearly showing his opinion on those who said things like that to kids.

"Nell, listen to me," he commanded, leaning back to look Nell in the eyes, "I'm not going to let him do anything to you, understand?" he said firmly.

Nell's tear-streaked face looked up at his. "But what if he kidnappers me? What if he takes me away?" she demanded.

"Well, then I'll just have to get you back, won't I?" Hanataro said, eyes freezing over slightly at the thought of the psycho captain touching Nell.

"Yeah! And I'll beat him to pulp!" Yachiru agreed from the doorway.

"No you won't. You aren't strong enough yet to take on a captain." Captain Zaraki growled, looking down at Yachiru.

"But Ken-chan! You said he was a no-good wussy!" Yachiru pointed out, almost whining. But not quite.

"Ya, but that ain't the point." Captain Zaraki growled.

Hanataro watched the two of them argue for a moment, gathering from Ikkaku's board expression that this was a normal occurrence.

"Come on, it's getting late and we should be getting home." Hanataro said as the Captain and Vice-captain of the 11th argued in the background.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro and Nell stepped out of the tunnel gates, the latter being carried by the former. Said child yawned loudly.

"Tired Nell-chan?" He asked, grinning lightly. A nod.

"Hana? 'm scared. He's kinda scary…" Nell said as they stepped into their room. He pushed aside the divider curtain that separated his room and laid Nell down on the futon.

"Don't worry. He won't get you here, you're safe here. Promise." Hanataro said softly as Nell drifted off into sleep, reassured by his words.

Rising, he decided to stay up a while longer. Sitting in the window, he looked up at the crescent moon, shining brightly in the clear sky. He sighed, the cool night breeze blowing his bangs into his face. He absently brushed his hair out of his face, remembering something he had written long ago.

The words came unbidden to his lips, the tune echoing in his head,

_"__Behind those eyes lies the truth and grief_

_Behind those beautiful smiles I've seen tragedy_

_T__he flawless skin hides the secrets within_

_Silent forces that secretly ignite your sins_

_Fly away, fly away_

_From the torch of blame_

_They haunt you_

_The Lucifer's Angels_

_Never lived, you never died_

_Your life has been denied_

_They call you_

_The Lucifer's Angel_

_Beyond these clouds you can hide all your tears_

_Beyond this world you'll be safe from their wicked fears_

_And in their hearts they fear your demands_

_You know their minds won't accept you, they'll never understand_

_Fly away, fly away_

_From the torch of blame_

_They haunt you_

_The Lucifer's Angels_

_Never lived,__you never died_

_Your life has been denied_

_They call you_

_The Lucifer's Angel_

_On your own.__ I know you can make it._

_Truth or bone. I know you can shake it._

_Survive alone. I know you can take it._

_Fly away, fly away_

_From the torch of blame_

_They haunt you_

_Lucifer's Angels_

_You never lived, you never died_

_Your life has been denied_

_They call you__Lucifer's Ange__l_

_Fly away, fly away_

_Run away, run away_

_Hide away, hide away_

_Lucifer's Angel_

_Fly away, fly away_

_Run away, run away_

_Hide away, hide away_

_Lucifer's Angel_

_Fly away, fly away_

_Run away, run away_

_Hide away, hide away_

_Lucifer's Angel__"_

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Sorry this chapter is kinda late, I had planned to have it up two days ago, but Mom wanted to download something. It ended up taking over 48 hours. The next chapter is being written even now so the waiting time should be somewhat shorter.

On another note: I have started a forum for my story, you can get to it from my profile page. Feel free to leave suggestions and ideas there. I need all the help I can get with my writing skills.

Thanks!


	10. First Kill

Chapter 10: First Kill

Hanataro awoke in the pre-dawn light and growled when his body informed him that it was down pouring. He groaned in pain, his scars protesting greatly at any kind of movement. Outside, he heard it raining liberally, not showing any signs of letting up soon.

Groaning again, he rolled over. Wincing, he began the laborious task of pushing himself up off of the floor. Stumbling slightly, he made his way slowly over to his desk and rummaged through the bottom drawer. He withdrew a slim case with a strange design on the front of it. He bit down hard on his thumb and wiped the resulting blood over the design. It glowed pale silver and a faint clicking sound was heard. Opening the case, Hanataro took out a bottle and shook out two pills from it. He dry-swallowed the pills and replaced the bottle in the box. He shoved the box back into the drawer and made his way painfully back to his bed and waited for the pain-relievers to take effect.

Two hours later, Hanataro was able to move about the room, albeit stiffly. Stumbling around in the early dawn light, he cursed the rain with some choice words he learned pre-death.

He dragged on his uniform, woke Nell, and made his way to the Mess Hall, jogging from one overhang to the next to stay reasonably dry. They got to the Mess Hall reasonably quickly and dry, and early enough to beat the majority of the division members. Hanataro fell into the seat across from Kai, grumbling something that no one was able to understand.

Kai wordlessly pushed a cup of scalding black coffee towards him, along with a plate of light food and another plate for Nell.

"Thanks," Hanataro muttered and downed the piping hot coffee, ignoring the burning sensation from his throat from the concentrated caffeine.

"Hana? You don't look so good," Nell said, looking up from her plate.

"Don't worry," Hanataro said, smiling slightly, "I'm fine." He finished, ignoring Kai's muttered "Liar," comment.

Nell looked at him sternly, an expression that was very out of place on her childish face, "You're lieing." She said simply.

Kai sighed, "Don't worry about him, Nell-chan." He advised, "If he doesn't want to tell you anything, he won't. But to warn you, he'll be crabby until it dries up around here."

Hanataro glared at Kai.

"Hey! Don't glare at me! I ain't the one who's acting like a PMS-ing girl!"

Hanataro growled and chucked his empty cup at Kai's head and was rewarded with a satisfying _'Thunk!' _ as it made contact with his head.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

It was later that day that Ichigo was scheduled to go home. Without his Substitute Shinigami badge. It was a decision made by the General to revoke his license, on the basis that he was obviously too immature to handle it.

This angered Ichigo greatly, and the only thing that kept him from attacking the General was the gentle hand of Captain Unohana. Hanataro had brought Nell early, so she could say good-bye without rushing. The only good news was that the rain had temporally let up.

It was hard for Ichigo to go when Captain Ukitake arrived to open the gate. Before he stepped into the gate, he pulled Hanataro aside. "Hanataro, keep an eye on Nell for me?" he pleaded.

Hanataro looked closely at Ichigo. He looked tired and worn. Dark bags had formed under his eyes, lines had etched themselves into his face.

Hanataro smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, I will take care of her. She will be safe." Ichigo smiled slightly, the lines around his eyes easing and looked as though a weight had been lifted off of him.

"Thank you." He said simply.

"Ichigo, it's time." Captain Ukitake said from by the gates, "I can't keep this open forever."

Nell slammed into Ichigo for another hug, not wanting him to leave. Ichigo gently pried her off of him, handing her over to Hanataro before stepping into the gates that would take him back to his own world.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

It was raining on the other side of the gate, Ichigo duly noted. He saw three people waiting for him. The first two were no surprise, but the third…

"Dad? What the Hell are you doing here?" Ichigo yelled in surprise, some of the life returning to his eyes.

"Captain Ukitake sent a message through the gates telling me what happened." Isshin said simply.

Ichigo stared at his father for a moment before something clicked. "Waite a moment, how do you know Captain Ukitake?"

"That…is a…very… long story." Isshin said grinning. "And one that I would be glad to tell you once we get back under cover."

Ichigo followed his father, Urahara and Yourichi back into Urahara's shop, wondering just what the hell was going on.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

It had been a week since Ichigo had returned to the world of the living and life in Soul Society had gone on. Currently, one Hanataro Yamada was searching for his wayward students. Arriving at the HQ of the 13th division, he knocked on Captain Ukitake's door.

"Captain Ukitake, do you know where Sentaro and Kiyone are?" He asked upon taking the seat across from him.

"Ah, thought you might drop by because of that," Captain Ukitake said, setting aside his tea.

"It was their latest mission into Rugonkai. They ran into trouble out there, the only thing I know for sure is that when Kiyone got back she told me 'I killed them' and ran off, currently she has locked herself into an old storage room that no one uses anymore. Sentaro is there, trying to get her to come out but he isn't having any luck so far." He sighed, weariness etched into his features.

"Where is the storage room?" Hanataro asked, preparing himself for the talk that he was most likely going to be having with his students.

"Down the hall and to your left. But you won't be able to get in, she locked the only set of keys in the room with her." Captain Ukitake said.

"Shouldn't the 4th have a copy of the key?" Hanataro asked, confused.

"Not for that room. It holds old records for the entire division, so there is only one key for security reasons." Captain Ukitake said. "And because of that, we have to wait until a new key is made."

Hanataro smirked, "Actually, we don't. I just need to get something from my room and I'll have the door open in no time."

"And what do you have that could get through the door?"

"My lockpicks."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Ukitake led Hanataro through the halls of the 13th. The former looked bemused and slightly exasperated, the latter simply amused and carrying a simple leather covered bundle.

Coming from farther down the hall, the unmistakable voice of Sentaro was heard.

"Kiyone! How long do you plan to stay there?!"

The two men shared a glance and sped up slightly.

Sentaro was preparing to yell again when a hand lay itself on his shoulder. Turning, he saw that the hand belonged to his captain, with his sensei standing beside him.

"That's enough, Sentaro. Yelling at her through the door will not do anything." Captain Ukitake said firmly, giving Hanataro a chance to analyze his student. Sentaro definitely looked the worse for wear. His uniform was tattered and worn, with what Hanataro knew was dried blood coating the hems of his pants. His hair had fallen out of its usual tri-spiked form, falling raggedly to his shoulders. The rope that he had tied around his forehead in a fisherman's knot had disappeared. Last of all were the shadows both in and under his eyes.

Hanataro sighed and unrolled the bundle he had brought with him, revealing about a dozen slender rods of metal, bent at odd angles at the ends. He let his fingers ghost over the slender rods before selecting one and inserting it into the lock. He jiggled it around for a bit until he heard the first tumbler slide open.

"Hana-sensei, what are you-"

"I'm picking the lock. Now be quiet, I need to hear the tumblers inside the lock to know if they gave way or not." Hanataro said the vast majority of his attention on the task at hand.

"I'm not too sure whether it's a good thing that you can pick locks or not," Captain Ukitake remarked from behind him as Hanataro move the last tumbler and the lock opened.

"Actually, that is one of the trickier locks that I've encountered. Most probably wouldn't have been able to get through it." Hanataro said, placing his tools back in their holders and tying the bundle up. Standing, he opened the door and motioned for the other two to go ahead of him.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The record room was dark and dusty. It was so dusty that it looked as though nobody had bothered to enter the room for ages. Thankfully, all of the dust made it clear which way Kiyone went. As if her footprints weren't enough of a clue, they could hear he muffled sobs from here.

Kiyone was sitting against the wall, knees brought up to her chest, arms on top of them and her head on top of her arms. She was covered in dried blood, dirt and sweat.

Hanataro sighed and gently touched her shoulder. Kiyone's head shot up and locked on to Hanataro.

"Hey, what happened out there?" He asked gently, shifting positions to sit cross-legged in front of her. Kiyone looked off to the side and muttered "You'll hate me."

"I doubt that," Hanataro said dryly, "I can assure you that there is little you could possibly tell me that would make me think less of you." He informed her solemnly, netting his fingers together and resting his chin on the platform they made with his elbows resting on his knees.

Kiyone turned her had back to face him. Beside him, Captain Ukitake and Sentaro had also sat down, forming a sort of circle with Captain Ukitake on the left and Sentaro on the right. Sentaro lay a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Kiyone shuttered and looked around at the encouraging expressions on all of their faces. Shuddering, she began slowly.

"It was just suppose to be a recon mission into Rugonkai 26 – south. When we got there, we were shown to the inn and given dinner. They must have added something to the food, because before we knew it, we were dropping off to sleep at the table. Then latter, we awoke to find that there were strangers in our room, going through our stuff, looking for something. When they noticed that we were awake, they attacked. T-they ki-killed Kin and Aoi before we could do anything. They attacked Sentaro and me next. Somehow, we ended up in the middle of the forest. They split us apart, two going after me, two went after Sentaro. They left me no choice. They kept attacking me, I fought back and I-I" Kiyone shuddered and fell silent.

Sentaro said nothing, instead he drew her into a hug, allowing her to cry away the terrors of that night.

"There were a total of four. Two attacked me, and two Kiyone. They timed their attacks to split us apart. I…took care of my attackers and went after Kiyone to find her like this in a pool of blood." Sentaro finished for her.

Hanataro and Captain Ukitake frowned.

"Are the two of you injured anywhere?" Captain Ukitake asked.

Sentaro shook his head, "Nothing that can't wait." He said, "And I didn't see anything dangerous on Kiyone on the way back. Mostly it's all small cuts and bruises." Sentaro told them.

Kiyone had fallen silent. Close observation showed she had fallen asleep, hands fisted in Sentaro's robes.

"I don't care how injured you two are. You're going to the 4th where I can make sure you aren't poisoned or something." Hanataro said firmly.

"But-"

"No. No 'but's. Move on your own or I will drag you. Take your pick." Hanataro said firmly, voice clearly stating that he was more than willing to carry out his threat.

Sentaro made the mistake of looking into his Sensei's eyes and felt all of the resistance drain out of him like water. "Yes Sensei."

Captain Ukitake suppressed a grin as Hanataro marched Sentaro out of the room, Kiyone still asleep and being cradled by Sentaro. He followed the three of them out of the room, quietly chuckling to himself.

The four must have made a very strange group, traveling through the streets of Soul Society as they did.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro and Captain Ukitake sat in the waiting room as Captain Unohana and Vice-Captain Kotetsu checked over both Sentaro and Kiyone.

"They will be alright." Captain Ukitake said.

Hanataro didn't reply for a long time. "I should have tried to prepare them for something like this." He said slowly.

"You couldn't have known that something like this would happen." Captain Ukitake said neutrally.

"So? I should have anticipated something like this." Hanataro said, eyes locked on the door that separated him from his students.

"You aren't omnipresent, so I don't see how you could have," Captain Ukitake said reasonably.

"That isn't the point. I should have been able to do something." Was the monotone reply.

Captain Ukitake sighed, "You know what your problem is? You blame yourself for everything that happens."

"I've been telling him that for years. It has yet to penetrate his unnaturally thick skull," said another voice from the hall. A red-haired man with stunning golden eyes stepped into the room.

"Kai no Sabaku," the man introduced himself to Captain Ukitake, "So those brats of yours got into a bit of trouble." He said to Hanataro, who simply glared at him.

"Hey, no need to glare at me!" Kai said defensively.

"Sentaro and Kiyone mentioned you once. Something about tree-jumping?" Captain Ukitake said curiously.

Kai chuckled slightly, "Oh, that…See, Hanataro had to do something, so he left training that day to me. He was teaching them the normal Shinobi method of travel-basically gather reiatsu to your legs and flare it as you step down- and one of the best ways to learn that is to jump from tree to tree. I had them do that while I shot off different Jutsu and Kido at them, teaching them to doge multiple attacks at the same time," Kai rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "Though the two of them didn't share the appreciation for my training methods."

"Ah. No, they weren't very happy with you if I recall correctly." Captain Ukitake agreed.

They sat in silence for a while. Nobody could think of anything to say to lighten the tense atmosphere.

The atmosphere itself was broken when Captain Unohana herself came out of the room. "You two can calm down. The two of them are fine. Tired, with multiple cuts and scrapes, but overall they are fine."

The tension in the room decreased immediately. "You may go and see them, if you wish." She said, moving aside as Captain Ukitake entered the room, followed by Hanataro. Kai took Hanataro's seat.

"You aren't going in?" Captain Unohana asked.

"Nope. Not my brats." Kai shrugged. "I'm just here to make sure he remembers that he promised to play with Nell-chan and Vice-Captain Kusajishi."

"Does he know that he is going to play with them?" Captain Unohana asked, almost dreading the answer.

Kai grinned, "Well…he will once he finishes up in there."

Captain Unohana smiled slightly and simply walked away.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Ok, don't start thinking that fast updates are going to be regular.

Thank you to all that reviewed, your encouragement is greatly appreciated.

And now I can start moving the plotline along. The stage is set, the actors are in their positions, and all that is left to do is let them act their parts.


	11. Raikiri

A/N: People, thank you to those who take the time to review. To those who haven't, please do. It helps me write better when I know what others think of my writing.

Chapter 11: Raikiri

'I am going to kill him,' Hanataro though viciously, 'I am going to kill him very dead.'

And why was Hanataro going to kill someone? Because someone had volunteered him to watch over both Nell and Yachiru. He had also given them sugar.

This explained why he was trying to catch the two youngsters while they bounced around the entire 11th division. The only savings-grace was that because Nell didn't know Shunpo, Yachiru decided not to use it as well. Hanataro collapsed against the side of a building wearily.

"I'm gonna kill Kai. I'm gonna kill him and nobody's ever gonna find the body." Hanataro vowed half seriously as he leaded against the building and slowed his breathing.

"The Hell? Yamada, what the Hell are you doing here?" a semi-familiar voice asked. Opening his eyes wearily, he saw Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa.

"Kai…volunteered..me to watch Nell-chan and Vice-Captain Kusajishi for the day. And he gave them sugar." Hanataro said, standing.

"Ah, that would explain your condition," Yumichika said, in reference to his slightly dusty and sweaty uniform.

"How long ago did they run off?" Ikkaku asked, curious.

:An hour after breakfast," Hanataro admitted, "Right around the time we got here."

"Well, if they started out that long ago, they should be at the mess hall by now." Yumichika grinned.

"Perfect, just perfect," Hanataro groaned. Kai was a dead-man-walking.

Ikkaku snickered, "Chill out ya wimp. They should be done by now and buggin' the captain."

Hanataro sighed in relief, causing both of the other two men to snicker again.

"Thank you for your help," he said, bowing and turning in the direction of the 11th division office. Ikkaku and Yumichika falling into step beside him.

"What are you-"Hanataro asked, only to be interrupted by Yumichika. "We also have business with the Captain. Besides, why are you complaining? With us here, no one will try to beat you up," he explained. Hanataro nodded and said nothing more. The walk to the 11th division was completed in silence.

"Excuse me Captain Zaraki, but has Nell-chan and Vice-Captain Kusajishi passed through here recently?" Hanataro asked nervously.

"Yachiru and the Brat? Haven't seen 'em." Captain Zaraki said, sipping his sake.

"Oh, do you know where they might be?" Hanataro tried again.

"Not a damn clue. Go bug someone else ya wimp," Captain Zaraki growled ominously.

Hanataro took that as his clue to make tracks and find them some other way. As he was about to leave a lower-ranked 11th division member came barreling past him, knocking him into the wall.

"Captain Zaraki!" he shouted, falling to his knees.

"What the Hell are you barging in here for?" said Captain growled.

"Captain Kurotsuchi and Vice-Captain Kurotsuchi are attacking Vice-Captain Kusajishi and the Arrancar!" the squad member blurted out, "There seems to be some kind of barrier in place around them-we can't get through it."

"Where are they?" Hanataro asked, pulling on his reserves of self control not to run off without any kind of information. It wouldn't benefit him if he ran off without any idea as to what direction they were in.

"Wha? Why the hell should I answer you?" the squad member asked, offended that the upstart 4th division member dare to question him.

"Just answer the god damned question!" Captain Zaraki roared..

"Out on the border between the 11th and 12th division," the pour sod stuttered out.

"Ikkaku! Yumichika! Get your asses in here!" Captain Zaraki yelled. The two mentioned Shinigami burst through the door seconds later.

"Come on, Kurotsuchi's stepped over the line-settin' up some kind of shield while attacking both Yachiru and the Brat." He said standing.

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" Ikkaku said, slamming a fist into his hand.

"Unfortunately, it will take quite some time to get to the border between our divisions-we'd have to cross almost the entire 11th and lunch has just let out." Yumichika pointed out dryly.

They were broken out of their thoughts by the sound of the door slamming.

Hanataro had left the room.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

He ran across the courtyard and jumped up to the roof of the three story building on the other side.

Closing and stilling his mind, he breathed in and out, calming and stilling his mind.

He let his mind drift, searching for the familiar feeling he associated with Nell-chan and Vice-Captain Kusajishi. Pale, icy blue eyes snapped open.

"Got ya," he murmured as he felt three presences land behind him.

"What are you doing up here on the roof?" Yumichika asked, irritated.

"Finding Nell-chan and Vice-Captain Kusajishi," Hanataro said, most of his attention trying to figure out how they were doing.

"You can sense their reiatsu from all the way out here?" Ikkaku asked, surprise coloring his voice.

Hanataro frowned, "Don't be stupid," he said, "There is too much uncontrolled Reiatsu around here for me to find them that way. Put simply, I am what is called an Empath." He finished, standing easily on the roof.

"If you want to find them quickly, I would suggest that you follow me," he said. Without another word, he ran down the length of the roof and jumped, landing easily on the next building. The three men stood dumfounded for a moment as the 4th division member moved quickly across the buildings.

"Anybody know what the hell an Empath is?"

"Are you sure we should be worrying about that now, Ikkaku?"

"Shuddap the two of ya, we're loosen him,"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro grinned as he felt both the reiatsu and presences of the three follow after him. Slowly, he sped up to the point that the three of them had started using Shunpo. The three of them slowly caught up to him, running along beside him where they could.

"How much farther?" Yumichika shouted. Hanataro glanced over at him, replying, "Five hundred meters, or about that. I can't get a good reading on them, there seems to be some kind of shield around them and it's messing up my senses." Hanataro shouted back.

A minute later, they were able to see a transparent green barrier. All four of them sped up, not needing verbal communication to know that that was their target.

Landing on ground level, Hanataro and the others rushed at the barrier only to find that it was very solid.

Inside the barrier, he was able to catch sight of Nell. She was covered in dust and grime, small amounts of blood from where their blades had gotten too close. Vice-Captain Kusajishi was in the same condition.

Both Captain and Vice-Captain Kurotsuchi were inside the barrier, attacking the girls.

"NELL!" Hanataro yelled, fisting up his hand and punching the barrier. Beside him, Captain Zaraki had unsheathed his sword and swung it mercilessly. Ikkaku and Yumichika were doing the same.

Inside the barrier, Nell heard Hanataro's voice. Turning, she saw him standing on the other side of the barrier. "Hanataro! Help!" she yelled as she ducked under Captain Kurotsuchi's sword again.

"I'm coming Nell!" Hanataro shouted as he punched again at the barrier.

"Hahaha!" Captain Kurotsuchi laughed, pausing in his pursuit of the two children.

"Brute force won't get past my barrier. This particular kido won't break from physical force, and most other kido won't even scratch it. Face it, your weakness will be your undoing," he laughed again.

Captain Zaraki, Yumichika and Ikkaku threw themselves at the barrier, pounding it repeatedly.

Hanataro on the other hand sank to his knees, his empathic senses telling him that what Captain Kurotsuchi said was no lie.

_"This is a very powerful Jutsu, so don't use it without reason,__"_ Uncle Kakashi's voice floated through Hanataro's head. His eyes widened as he remembered the day that he had been taught the Raikiri.

_Flashback:_ (What you all have been waiting for!)

_Kakashi sat across from an attentive Yui. They were in one of the more remote training grounds of Konoha, far away from everyone else. They sat in the bottom of a deep ravine, the walls worn smooth._

_"So, Uncle Kakashi, did you really teach this to Father?" Yui asked, excited that he would be able to learn the same thing as his father. The hot sun shone down on the two as Yui used as much self control as his 13 year old body possessed. _

_"I did. He was about your age, now that I think about it," Kakashi mused, closing a familiar orange book. _

_"Be careful with this Jutsu though__, push__ too much Chakra into it, __you could potentially burn you Chakra paths. That said, once you master this, it will could through almost anything."_

_Yui smiled happily. __"Got it.__ What are the seals?" _

_"Oh, right…here, they are-"_

_End flashback_

Hanataro stood, his entire body lax. 'Thanks, Uncle Kakashi,' he thought as he went through the seals required for the Raikiri. Holding out his right hand, he braced it at the wrist with his left as he started channeling his reiatsu down his arm and into the jutsu.

'You have no idea how much this Jutsu is helping me now,' he thought as the Raikiri took form in his hand, the sounds of over one thousand birds filling the air around him. His now pale icy blue grey eyes locked onto a spot of the barrier.

Yumichika was about to call on his zanpakutō and damn the consequences when the sound of birds filled his ears. Turning to the source of the noise, he almost stepped back in pure shock.

Hanataro stood there, a ball of concentrated reiatsu gathered in the palm of his hand, what appeared to be lightning flickered all around him, striking the ground at his feet and flying up around him. His hair had lifted away from his head slightly, floating in the aura of silver reiatsu.

"Wh-what the hell-" Ikkaku stuttered out, feeling the massive amounts of reiatsu and hearing the noise from the jutsu. Captain Zaraki had also stopped pounding away at the barrier to see what was happening.

Whatever the boy was doing, it was big. It looked as though he was manipulating pure, un-diluted reiatsu. But from what they remembered, that was near impossible to do, let alone at the level that he was manipulating it on.

And then he moved.

He leaped back, putting distance between himself and the barrier. The moment he landed, he charged forward, Raikiri held just above the ground. He thrust it forward, slamming the ball of reiatsu into the barrier. Hanataro growled when he felt rather than saw the shield warp, his Jutsu not strong enough to break through it.

He pushed more reiatsu into the Jutsu, wincing at the strain it put on his reiatsu paths. The shield started to warp more prominently, it rippled as though it were a smooth pond and someone dropped a large stone in the center. Hanataro shoved all the reiatsu he could though his arm, praying it would hold up until he at least broke through the shield. The cloth on his arm disintegrated due to the sheer concentration of reiatsu.

Around him, he felt the members of the 11th division gather. Not a one moved, shocked into stillness by the power that someone from the weakest division held.

'Damn it! I can't give any more power to the Raikiri without totally destroying my arm!' Hanataro thought furiously. His arm _burned_ with the power that he was forcing through it. He felt his reiatsu strain at keeping the Jutsu going for so long.

"Look! The barrier is starting to crack!" Some random 11th division member shouted from behind him. Determination surged through him. If he could just keep it going for a little longer…

His Jutsu started to flicker, growing dimmer and then flaring back up as he struggled to keep a constant stream of reiatsu flowing though his badly damaged arm.

"…Bakudo 33: Pale Fire Crash!"

A white-blue ball of reiatsu slammed into the shield beside him.

"Yumi? What the hell?" Ikkaku asked liking at his smirking friend.

"Well, I can't very well allow him to grab all the glory. Besides, he can't keep up whatever he's doing for much longer," Yumichika pointed out.

Indeed, Hanataro was coming closer and closer to his limit. He wasn't even able to feel his arm anymore and the only thing keeping against the barrier was his own weight.

"So start launching Kido at the damn thing!" Ikkaku yelled out to the assembled Shinigami before starting his own chant, stumbling through the words.

From the crowd, those who knew Kido stepped forward, murmuring their chants. One, a tall, well built man who looked like he was about twenty stepped forward. His dark amber eyes surveyed the situation. He sighed, brushing away a few stray strands of his dark green hair away from his face. He strode right up to the barrier, farther away from everyone else. Holding out his hand, he gathered his reiatsu to the palm of said hand.

A glowing sphere of reiatsu took shape, spinning and whirling like a miniature typhoon, going faster and faster, the ball itself the same deep emerald of his own reiatsu. Drawing back his arm, he shoved both it and the Rasengan into the barrier.

"What the Hell? They're breaking through the barrier?" Captain Kurotsuchi said, pausing his pursuit of the Arrancar child. Looking up he could see the thin cracks spreading though the barrier. Following the cracks, he was able to trace the vast majority of them back to one member of the 4th division.

He growled, "Nemu! Get your ass out here! We're leaving!" He called out. Obediently, his 'daughter' stopped perusing the Arrancar and appeared at his side.

With a sound similar to shattering glass, the barrier finally broke. Both Captain Kurotsuchi and Vice-Captain Kurotsuchi shunpo'ed out of the area as fast as they could, chased by Captain Zaraki, as well as Ikkaku and Yumichika. They were determined to show the two of them why trying to attack the Vice-Captain was under the heading _VERY BAD IDEA_.

Hanataro on the other hand, let the jutsu fade out, his arm falling limply by his side, useless. He collapsed, falling to his knees, the strain of using so much reiatsu catching up to him. He clenched his teeth as his arm let him know that it was very much busted, sending white-hot shocks of pain through his system.

Nell ran to Hanataro, wrapping her arms around him, clinging tightly to him. Hanataro smiled slightly through the pain and wrapped his one good arm around her tightly. "Y-you came," Nell bawled, "I thought the creepy guy was gonna cut me into pieces! He said that he was going to experiment on me and that I'd never get to see you or Yachiru-chan ever again!" Hanataro said nothing, instead opting to hug her tighter.

"Well, that was interesting," said the green haired man.

"Akira? What are you doing here?" Hanataro asked, not releasing his grip on Nell, who was now sobbing slightly into his robes.

"Heard the commotion, felt your reiatsu flare higher than that of most of the 11th division," Akira shrugged, sitting down and uncorking a canteen he had hanging from his waist. He sighed contentedly and offered the canteen to Hanataro, who shook his head.

"You know I don't drink," he said, grinning, then winced as his arm reminded him that it was still injured, "Nell-chan, this is one of my brothers, Akira Tenaka." He said to Nell, who looked over at him shyly. Akira, grinned and gave her a joking salute.

"Midori-kun! You're here too!" Yachiru said, clinging to his shoulder, even though he was sitting on the ground.

"Ah, Vice-Captain, I thought you had gone Creepy-Clown hunting," Akira said, unsurprised at his Vice-Captain's appearance.

"Creepy-Clown face turned into a puddle of goo," Yachiru pouted, "Nell-Chan! Are you ok?" She asked, hopping down from her position on Akira's shoulder and appearing in front of Nell and Hanataro. Nell let go of Hanataro's robes and stood up.

"Well, that was a waste of time, the damn bastard cowered out on me," Captain Zaraki grumbled, Ikkaku and Yumichika looking equally disgusted.

"Ken-chan!" Yachiru said, running up to claim her usual spot on his shoulder.

"As for you," Captain Zaraki said, turning to face Hanataro, "What the Hell was that thing?" he demanded.

Hanataro laughed nervously, 'Well damn, there goes any and all thoughts of discresion,' he thought before responding with "Well, it wasn't a Kido, if that's what you're asking, it was a Jutsu."

"What the Hell is a Jutsu?" Captain Zaraki asked irritably.

"Think a Kido with hand seals instead of an incantation." Hanataro said, trying to shift his damaged arm out of sight without too much more pain. Unfortunately for him, Ikkaku saw it.

"Oi, Yamada, what the hell is wrong with your arm?"

"Nothing! Don't worry, it's fine." Hanataro said, trying to hide his arm.

"Let me see it," Akira demanded, kneeling down in front of his brother.

"Really, it's fine," Hanataro protested.

"Brother, you and I both know you're lying. Save yourself a lot of trouble and just show me what you did to yourself this time," Akira advised his brother drily.

Hanataro hesitated, then showed his brother his arm.

The four gathered around to stare in fascinated horror. Not that Hanataro could blame them, his arm did look pretty gruesome. Angry red lines traced their way down his arm, leaving and intricate pattern on his tanned skin. Around those lines, his skin was beginning to change color, shades of purple, blue, green and yellow were making their appearance. The multitude of scares that he had on his arm stood out, darker slashes cutting across his arm.

The hell happened to your arm?" Ikkaku yelled after a moment of stunned silence.

"Hehehe…I…kinda busted the reiatsu paths in my arm," Hanataro said, laughing nervously.

Akira looked blankly at his brother. "And how, pray tell, did you do that?" he asked. To the rest of them, it sounded as though he were talking about something as simple as the weather. Hanataro however, could hear the restrained anger in his voice.

"Um…I…forced too much power into the Raikiri and kept it active for over five minutes…" he yelped as he ducked under a swipe aimed for his head.

"Hana-baka! You know that you aren't supposed to keep the Raikiri active for more than two minutes, _at most_! And especially not a super-powered Raikiri at that!" Akira yelled, heedless of the looks he was getting from his comrades.

"It's not like I had a choice! It was the only thing I could think of to get through the barrier!" Hanataro shot back in attempt to defend himself.

"Does it hurt?" Yachiru asked, poking his arm. Hanataro suppressed a hiss of pain, "Yes. Very much. Don't touch it please."

"Can you even move your arm?" Captain Zaraki asked after a moment.

"No." Hanataro answered truthfully.

Akira grumbled under his breath, _'Yuri! Idiot little brother has done something stupid again resulting in totally busted reiatsu paths in his right arm to the point that he can't move the entire arm itself.'_ He called through their Link.

_'He shattered them again? What the Hell did he do this time?'_ Yuri asked, his voice giving the impression of icy winter wastes and biting cold winds.

_"Later.__ Just get to the 4__th__ division. We'll meet you there. And tell Kai to get a room ready."_ Akira said.

"C'mon. You are going to see Captain Unohana." He said, seizing Hanataro by the back of his uniform and dragging him boldly along.

"Wha-? But-"

"No. No 'but's about it. Yuri and Kai will meet us there," he said, dragging the stumbling Hanataro along.

"A-ki-ra! Let me go!" Hanataro whined, struggling to get free.

"Hana, if I let you go, you and I both know for a fact you will avoid the 4th division like the plague." Akira said.

"Huh? Avoid the 4th? What, he afraid of doctors?" Ikkaku asked snickering.

"Why are you following us?" Akira asked irritably, avoiding Ikkaku's question.

"Because we want an explanation." Yumichika said, appearing on Akira's other side.

"Well, I for one want to know exactly what it is that Yamada did," Captain Zaraki said, Yachiru riding on one shoulder, Nell riding on the other.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Ok, read and review, please. It really does help my writing, especially when you give me suggestions.

I also have a forum for this story where you can post any and all questions about my story, or if you just want to comment on it. I will do my best to answer all questions there.

Thanks!


	12. Empath

Sorry that this one is so late, I had to make a complete Bleach cosplay costume during the weekend and didn't have the time to write.

Bleach does not belong to me.

Neither does Final Fantasy 7.

Chapter 12: Empath

After much dragging, Akira finally giving up and carrying him under his arm, they made it to 4th division.

"There you are," Kai said, greeting the odd group at the door to the General Hospital. Kai raised an eyebrow at Akira and Hanataro. The former carrying the latter and the latter glaring at the former.

"And why am I not surprised?" Kai asked the air around him as he led the group through the halls of the 4th. "Shaddup Kai, you have a room ready?" Akira asked.

"Yeah. Yuri just got here. He's waiting with Captain Unohana," Kai said, waiving them down a hall. He finally stopped at what appeared to be a random door. Opening it, they found Captain Unohana pacing nervously and Yuri leaning against the wall, eyes closed.

"Hanataro, Kai said that-oh my!"

"Hehe…Hi Captain Unohana," Hanataro laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his hand, his bad arm was dangling in full view.

"What did you do to your arm?" She demanded, starring at his mutilated limb.

"He basically shattered his reiatsu coils. Akira, put him on the table before he bites you," Yuri sighed.

"Hey! What am I? A sack of potatoes?" Hanataro demanded as he was unceremoniously dumped onto the table.

"Close enough," Kai said, smirking all the while.

Hanataro grumbled something and tried to get up, only to be forced back down by two hands. One of the hands was from Kai, the other from Akira.

"Sit down Brother," Yuri said, "You lost any chance of escape the moment you set foot inside the Hospital."

"You said that he shattered his reiatsu paths?" Captain Unohana said, interrupting their conversation.

"If he did shatter them, then I'm not sure what I can do to help him," she said sadly, "It's not very common among Shinigami to damage their reiatsu paths in the first place, and there are few cases of them being this badly damaged in the first place."

Silence descended upon the room.

"And that would be why Frostbite is here," Kai said grinning.

"I thought that I made it abundantly clear you were not to use that infernal name in reference to me," Yuri growled.

"Yuri here staged under Grandma Tsunande. One of the first things she taught him was how to repair damaged Reiatsu paths," Kai said, blatantly ignoring Yuri's Glare-of –impending-Doom.

"So you can repair them? I've been looking into the condition for quite some time, but there have been far too few cases and always so much to do that I have not been able to develop very much to help." Captain Unohana said.

"I'm not surprised. Among Shinigami, the condition is rare because they rarely push themselves to the point of causing their body to collapse around them," here Yuri shot a venomous glare at Hanataro, who only grinned sheepishly, "Anyway, among Shinobi, it's more common, due to the fact that we tend to train ourselves to the breaking point far more often than Shinigami." Yuri said, forcibly pushing aside his irritation with his brothers aside.

"Captain Unohana, if you remind me, I would be more than happy to write down the information about the Jutsu for you," Yuri said as he walked over to where he was standing, "Hana, you should know the drill by now, arm please."

Hanataro painfully held out his damaged arm. Yuri flashed through a set of seals, his hands becoming encased with his dark blue reiatsu.

Starting at the shoulder, he began the painstaking process of repairing his reiatsu paths. "It's not hard, per say, just very time consuming and delicate work," Yuri murmured, eyes closed to better concentrate on what he was doing. His hands moved slowly down Hanataro's arm, leaving behind faded red markings and bruised flesh. "This Jutsu only repairs the damage to the reiatsu paths, not the damage done to the arm itself, and he won't be able to do anything with his arm for a while," Yuri said as the blue glow faded away.

Yuri collapsed into a nearby chair, rubbing his temples. "Hanataro, brother or not, the _next_ time that you do something like this to yourself, I will injure you. Severely."

Hanataro grinned apologetically and moved his arm experimentally. It hurt like hell, but it was moveable, and that was good enough.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro had his arm bathed in salve and wrapped in pure white bandages. He was also under strict orders not to use his arm until it had healed from Captain Unohana. Hell had taken to following him around when not with Vice-Captain Kusajishi. And where Nell went, Vice-Captain Kusajishi was sure to show up eventually.

"Hiya Hana-chan!"

Hanataro stumbled slightly at the new weight that attached itself to his back. That weight was one Vice Captain Kusajishi.

"H-hello Vice-Captain Kusajishi," Hanataro said, regaining his balance.

"You're done, right?" she asked, still hanging from his shoulder.

"Well, yes," Hanataro said carefully.

"Great! Then you and Nell-chan can come play with me!" Yachiru said happily. Hanataro suppressed a groan. Ever since he had used the Raikiri on the barrier, Yachiru had decided that he was her favorite playmate. The only reason he didn't have Kenpachi and the rest of the 11th out after him was that they weren't going to waste their time on a 4th division wimp, even if they did have surprisingly powerful attacks.

"Well Nell-chan? Do you want to go play with Vice-Captain Kusajishi?" Hanataro asked.

Nell nodded happily and, grabbing his good arm, dragged him in the direction of the 11th division, Yachiru still hanging from his back.

Chuckling at the sight they must have made, Hanataro let himself be dragged away by his young charge.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Vice-Captain Matsumoto was not having a 'good day'. In fact, this was what she considered to be a 'bad day'.

A flash of anger not her own flared, washing over her. She took a deep breath and let it out, placing her cool palm against her forehead.

She sighed deeply and downed the last of her sake.

The normal flashes of foreign emotion faded back, becoming their usual dull pounding.

Someone knocked at her door. A boy with spiky silver-white hair and sea-green eyes stuck his head in.

"Matsumoto, we have work to do," Captain Hitsugaya said from the door.

"Coming Captain," she said cheerfully, ignoring the pounding of her head.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Yuri walked down the halls of the 10th, report in hand. He had been asked by his squad leader to deliver the report for their recent activities in hollow-hunting.

He knocked on the door, entering to find Captain Hitsugaya working and the Vice-Captain sleeping away on the couch.

"You have the report for team 12?" he asked. Yuri wordlessly handed it over.

"No problems then?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, flipping through the report.

"…None that I can think of," Yuri said slowly. 'And there isn't,' he justified, 'Isaga is an idiot who's trying to get us all killed.'

"Isaga says that you were insubordinate. Disregarding his orders to engage a Hollow."

"I assume that he forgot to mention that the hollow in question had injured several pluses and had started to retreated. Had I not helped them, they would have died. On top of that, the Hollow was already too far off to make pursuit a logical option." Yuri said dryly.

Captain Hitsugaya nodded, "Good, I was hoping you would say something like that,"

Yuri said nothing, waiting for his captain to continue.

"Squad 5 needs a new leader. I would like you to transfer over and take command."

"I understand. When do I transfer?" Yuri asked calmly.

"Nugh, what time is it?" Vice-Captain Matsumoto asked dazedly.

"One in the afternoon," Captain Hitsugaya said, a tic developing at his temple. Yuri stared at Vice-Captain Matsumoto carefully, there was something familure about her, and it was ticking him off because he couldn't remember what it was…

"What, is there something on my face?" Rangiku asked, touching her face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just surprised to find that you were an Empath," Yuri apologized.

"An Empath?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes. An Empath is someone who can feel other's emotions, as long as the other people are in range. Some of the more powerful ones can hear the thoughts of others, even speak telepathically. Yuri explained.

During his explanation, Rangiku had gone into a state of shock. She was an Empath…? She wasn't going crazy…?

"And you are an…Empath?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.

Yuri shook his head, "No, while I can tell if someone is an Empath or not, I am not one myself. My brother is though," he turned to Rangiku, "Vice-Captain Matsumoto, can I assume that you have never been trained?"

"N-no, I never even knew that I was an Empath. I thought that I was going crazy or something," Rangiku said, still in a state of mild shock.

"Hmm…Captain Hitsugaya, I would like to ask you to allow my brother to come here to explain more about Empaths." Yuri said, "He could explain far better then I, as well as answer any questions that you might have. Also, if I remember correctly, he might be able to erect some kind of mental barrier for Vice-Captain Matsumoto." He finished, looking his Captain in the eye.

Captain Hitsugaya glanced at Rangiku and sighed. She was pleading with him to allow this mysterious person to try and help her. Sighing again, he said "Alright, I will allow this person to come. But I want proof about this 'Empathy' business."

Yuri nodded.

"Alright. It may take him some time to get here though, he might have a good distance to travel," Yuri said, closing his eyes.

_"Brother, I may have another student for you. She is an untrained __Empath,__ and a powerful one if my guess is correct,"_ Yuri called out through his link. He could feel the stair of the other two occupants of the room.

_"An untrained Empath, of my strength?"_ came Hanataro's surprised reply. His mental 'voice' felt like a great wild fire, though it was held under tight control.

_"Yes. She can sense us talking like this, even if it doesn't appear as though she can understand us. And unless I miss my guess, Captain Hitsugaya can also sense the Link." _

_"Captain Hitsugaya…then the other Empath is-"_

_"Correct, in any case, it explains why none of us have felt it."_

_"I'll say. So the Vice-Captain of the 10__th__ division is an Empath. Well, at least it explains her drinking habits…I'll be there as soon as I can," _Hanataro said, cutting the link.

"What was that?" Rangiku asked as Yuri opened his eyes. "It almost seemed as though there was another person in the room, but there was nobody there."

"Ah, so you _could_ feel that," Yuri said, more to himself than to her, "That was our Link. Basically, it allows us to talk to each other, even though none of are Empaths, except for one." Yuri explained.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Shall I end it here?

looks behind herself and sees the masses of readers with Sharp-and-Pointy-things-of-Doom behind her

Or I could just keep writing… -.-;

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro sighed.

"Nell-chan, come here for a moment," Hanataro called.

Nell looked up from her drawing and ran over to him. Kneeling down, he said "Nell-chan, I have to got over to 10th division for a while. I need you to stay here, ok?" he said.

"OK," Nell said cheerfully, "You'll be back soon though, right?"

Hanataro smiled, "As soon as I can," he confirmed. He pulled out his purse and counted out some coins and gave them to Nell. Taking Nell's hand, he placed the coins into it.

"You can spend that on whatever you want," Hanataro said grinning, "But don't spend all of it on candy. And stay far, far away from 12th division." Hanataro said firmly.

Nell nodded and went back to coloring with Yachiru. Hanataro watched them play for a moment, turned, and left the room silently.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Yumichika ducked under a swipe aimed at his head and knocked the offender to the ground, just in time to see Hanataro leave the office.

He watched him walk off, on a route that he knew would take him directly to the tenth division. Sighing, he shrugged. There was more to Hanataro then what meets the eye, Yumichika would stake his entire collection of moisturizers and lotions on it.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro arrived at the tenth division a little while later.

Knocking on the door, he entered to find two of the three occupants staring at him.

The second thing that he noticed was the distinct feeling of another Empath. Turning to the source, he was unsurprised to see Vice-Captain Matsumoto staring at him.

"You are the other Empath, correct?" He asked unnecessarily.

Rangiku nodded, too surprised to say anything.

"Question, how can the two of you be brothers?" Captain Hitsugaya asked. It was a very reasonable question, Hanataro and Yuri looked nothing alike, the former being short, slender to the point of being almost unhealthy and plain blue-grey eyes; the latter had ice-blue hair and slightly darker icy blue eyes, and looked to be a good seven inches taller than his 'brother'.

"Let's just say that it has to do with blood and circumstance," Yuri said, smiling secretively.

"He said that you could create some kind of mental shield…" Rangiku interrupted.

"I can," Hanataro said, moving to the couch where Rangiku was sitting. He placed a hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes. Immediately, Rangiku felt the difference. It was as though someone had wrapped her in a warm, cozy blanket. The constant pounding of other's emotions faded and stopped all together. Rangiku fell back into the couch in relief, basking in the new-found silence.

"I still want proof," Captain Hitsugaya said crossly, half believing that this was some kind of massive joke.

_"Is this enough proof?"_ Hanataro 'said'.

**((And who are you hatchling?))** said another voice, one that Captain Hitsugaya recognized as his own Zanpakutō, Hyorinmaru. Hanataro was too surprised for a moment to reply. Gathering his wits quickly he said _"My name is Hanataro Yamada. Would I be correct in assuming that you are Hyorinmaru?"_

**((You would be. It has been a long time since another has been able to speak with me, one who is not Toshiro.))**

_"I am not surprised, fully trained Empaths are rare." _Hanataro agreed.

**((And should I assume that you were the one to put up shields around the cat woman?))** Hyorinmaru asked.

_"Yes, that was me. I was actually going to ask about getting some time to train her,"_ Hanataro said politely, thinking to himself 'Learn something new every day.'

**((Than I shall not delay you any longer.))** Hyorinmaru said, cutting the link. Before it faded out, he could have sworn he heard Hyorinmaru say **((There have not been fully trained ****Cetra**** within Soul Society for a very long time…))**

Hanataro opened his eyes, not even noticing that he had closed them in the first place. Captain Hitsugaya was staring at him openly, jaw slack in amazement.

"You….Honrinmaru…How?" He managed to get out.

"So do you believe me now?" Hanataro asked, suppressing a grin. It wasn't often someone shocked the young Captain.

"Yes. Not that I have a choice. What's this about training?" Captain Hitsugaya asked tiredly.

"Well, the shields won't last for long. At most, three days." Hanataro explained. "Wit time, I can teach her how to shield her mind herself. However, I can't teach her within Soul Society, and it won't be something she can learn quickly."

"Why can't you teach her here?" Captain Hitsugaya demanded.

Hanataro shook his head saying "There's far too much 'interference' here for her to be able to build any kind of decent shield," he explained, "She has rudimentary shields, enough to keep her sane, but to build good shields, we'll have to destroy the one she has now and rebuild them from the bottom up. If we were to do it here, it would cause her mind to shatter." Hanataro explained.

Captain Hitsugaya looked closely at Hanataro's face. "You're…not joking at all, are you?"

Hanataro shook his head again, "No, I would never joke about something as serious as this, though I wish I was. Vice-Captain Matsumoto is a potently powerful Empath herself, in time, her powers will overwhelm her shields and her mind will not be abl4e to handle the strain and shatter on its own."

"How long?"

"Until her powers are too strong? I don't know."

"No, how long will you need to train her?"

Hanataro though, clanking back at the oblivious Vice-Captain, "In all honesty…it would depend on how fast she learns. It could be anywhere from one to three months."

"I can give you two." Captain Hitsugaya said, digging out a form and filling it out rapidly.

"I'll talk to Captain Unohana, tell her the situation and ask that you be allowed to tag along on an extended scouting mission." He said, signing his name at the bottom of the page.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Done!

Sorry it's so late, but I had my hands full sewing three full Shinigami costumes and one Rukia costume (The tower of Repentance costume).

Read, Review, feel free to start new threads on my forum or use it to post questions or suggestions if you don't want to leave a review.

Thanks!


	13. Training, Sleepovers and Stones

I Do Not Own Bleach. Tite Kubo Does.

Chapter 13: Training, Sleepovers and Stones

"So, you're going out with Vice-Captain Matsumoto to teach her how to control her Empathic abilities?" Kai deadpanned.

"I don't exactly have a choice Kai! She _has_ to learn this and you know how rare a fully trained Empath is." Hanataro cried, throwing up his hands.

"And what about Nell?"

Hanataro sighed, "I don't know. I have no idea how to tell her either." Hanataro groaned and fell back against the wall, sliding down to the ground.

"Any chance you could take her?" Hanataro asked hopefully, looking up at his brother.

Kai shook his head, "I don't know. My neighbors already don't like me. Letting Nell stay with me could cause some trouble, besides, you know my barracks room is close to the third division. They aren't going to like having Nell so close by."

"What if you stayed in my room?" Hanataro asked, "There aren't a lot of people near me, so neighbors aren't a problem," Hanataro suggested.

"Maybe," Kai suggested, "Either way, you probably should go pick Nell up, it's getting late."

Hanataro nodded and stood up, dusting off his hakama.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Nell and Yachiru were playing on the floor of the 11th division office. Nell was also wearing a brand new pale green kimono with sakura petals scattered along the bottom and a honey-brown obi.

"Hey Nell, where'd you get those clothes?" Hanataro asked curiously.

Nell looked up and grinned, "Yumichika-san got them for me!"

"He did?"

"Well, I couldn't very well let her walk around in that cut down version of your uniform," Yumichika said from behind Hanataro, "I say that this looks much better on her than that rough-cut kimono you made for her. Though for some reason, she refuses to get rid of it, no matter how hard I try to get her to throw it away," He shrugged his shoulders. Hanataro looked at Yumichika with a piercing stare, then his eyes softened, "Thank you. I had no idea how to pick a kimono out, especially one for a young girl." Hanataro said, bowing at the waist.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, the coins that you gave her covered most of the price anyway; all I did was help her pick out something in her size. She has a good eye for colors," Yumichika said.

Hanataro smiled greatfully, "So I take it you went along when the two of them decided to go to town?"

This time, Yumichika smiled, "You are very observant. Yes, after the incident with Captain Kurotsuchi, I thought it best not to let the two of them off on their own. She saw a kimono shop and demanded that we go look at kimonos. I, of course, had no problem with this, and the end result was her coming out with a much better set of clothing."

Hanataro nodded and turned back to the two girls playing on the floor.

Sighing, he watched them play.

"Is something the matter? Your frowning is going to produce wrinkles that you can't afford to get," Yumichika asked, chiding gently.

"Huh?"

"Just now, you sighed, and your brow developed horrible wrinkles. You shouldn't do that, they will become permanent."

"Uh, sorry…I was just thinking of something."

"Of what may I ask?"

"I have a long term mission in Rugonkai, a scouting mission that will last for two months."

"And you don't know what to tell Nell," Yumichika said wisely. Hanataro nodded, "And I don't want her left on her own. I asked Kai to see if he can let her stay at his place, but he's too close to the third division for that to work out well, and on top of that he's busy enough as it is." He sighed again and rubbed his forehead.

"Can't he simply stay in your room?"

"No. He's on emergency call for Hospital number 4, my room is too far away for him to get there quickly, even with shunpo." Hanataro said, shaking his head.

Yumichika watched as the small member of the 4th division frown again, his grey-blue eyes locked on Nell.

Well, he could always…Yumichika shook his head. What on earth was he thinking? This was the 11th division. Though, it would solve Hanataro's problem nicely, and the child was certainly not a burden…and she hung around the Vice-Captain so often that she had become a regular sight at the 11th. And the captain wouldn't have a problem with it…he had developed a soft spot for the child, though his dear captain would cut off all of his limbs before he admitted it.

Clapping his hands, Yumichika turned to face the smaller Shinigami fully, "Hanataro, I do believe that I have a solution for your problems."

Hanataro looked at him questionably.

"What if she stayed at the 11th division? There is plenty of room here, and she could stay in Vice-Captain Kusajishi's room. She's here all the time anyway; it wouldn't really be much different than what happens now, only she won't go back to the fourth at the end of the day."

Hanataro adopted a thoughtful look, "But would Captain Zaraki agree to it?" he said out loud.

"I don't see why he wouldn't," Yumichika said, "The Captain has a soft spot for children, especially the younger ones. I doubt that he'll say no."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"So…you want the Brat to stay here." Captain Zaraki said, downing the last of his Saki.

"Yes."

"You know, it wouldn't be all that different that what she does now. And Vice-Captain Kusajishi would be overjoyed to have her friend stay for a long 'sleep-over'." Yumichika pointed out helpfully from beside Hanataro.

"'Che. Shaddup Yumichika. The Brat can stay. I don't really care. Yumichika, since you want her to stay so much, you watch over her." Captain Zaraki said, this time taking a long drink from the bottle directly.

Yumichika smiled brilliantly as Hanataro gave a deep bow in thanks.

Walking back to the 11th division office, Hanataro stopped.

"Ayasegawa-san, why did you buy that kimono for Nell, and why did you convince Captain Zaraki to allow her to stay with Vice-Captain Kusajishi?" he asked, his now gray eyes all but pinning him in place.

Yumichika suppressed a shutter, those eyes were very different from his eyes before, and he wasn't just talking about the color. He swallowed, trying to get moisture back into his throat. "Nell is a very nice person. And on top of that, the Vice-Captain is very attached to her. Nell is the only person Vice-Captain Kusajishi can really play with that is close to her own age. And I would hate to see her get hurt because of what she is because you weren't there to head off the attack," Yumichika said.

Hanataro's eyes narrowed, darkening, "What do you mean by that?"

"It took me quite a while to notice it, but you somehow seem to avoid those who mean Nell harm, and I know for a fact that you never use the same path to get here. It's so that nobody can set up ambushes, or know where you are going to come from."

Hanataro took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to their neutral blue-grey. "I hadn't though anyone would notice that," he admitted, "Though that is the reason that I do that."

"And I assume the growing number of those found knocked unconscious are your doing?"

Hanataro grinned embarrassedly, "Well, I couldn't have them following me all the way back to fourth," he admitted with a sheepish grin.

"You, Hanataro Yamada, are very much more than you appear. It will defiantly be interesting to see what happens to you." Yumichika said. "And one more thing, just call me Yumichika. Calling me Ayasegawa-san all of the time makes me feel old."

Hanataro looked at him for a moment, then smiled softly, "Alright then Ayase-Yumichika-san," he said.

Yumichika watched from the door as Hanataro told Nell that she would be staying at the 11th with Yachiru for the next two months and was glompped by the two excited children.

_'Yes. There is something distinctively different about you, it will be interesting to see what it is,'_ Yumichika though, a small smile on his face as he walked off.

Ikkaku joined up with Yumichika on his way to the mess hall.

"Oi, Yumi, what with the smile?" Ikkaku asked, glancing at his fruity friend.

"Nothing. I'm just pondering an interesting puzzle. Did you know that Nell-chan will be staying with Vice-Captain Kusajishi for the next two months?"

"Say what?"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he looked around. _'Someone must be talking about me. I hope. It would really suck to get a __cold,'_ he thought as he and Nell made their way back to the 4th division barracks.

Stopping, he knelt down so that he was on the same level as Nell. "Nell, there is something that I want you to hang onto for me," he said, reaching up to his neck and pulling out a long necklace hidden under his uniform.

Suspended on a thick black cord was a beautiful green gem. It sparkled in the moonlight, reflecting in Nell's eyes. To each side of the green stone was a silver decoration. Gently, he slipped it off over his head and over Nell's. "This was given to me by my Uncle Naruto. He got it from Grandma Tsunande. I want you to keep this safe for me, ok Nell?" he said, draping the necklace over her head.

Nell lifted the necklace up in front of her eyes, "Pretty…" she said, entranced by the green stone.

Later that night, Hanataro felt the covers shift. Turning over, he saw Nell sitting there, looking scared.

"Nell, wha-?"

"I'm scared. You're going away for a long time, right? Can I sleep with you tonight? Please?" Nell said in a rush. It took a minute for what she said to get past his slightly sleep-fogged brain (he had managed to fall asleep) but when it did, he sighed and scooted over, holding up the covers for Nell.

Grinning, Nell slipped under the covers and curled up beside Hanataro. "So what are you afraid of?" he asked once she had settled down.

"The creepy clown guy. And…and there are all kinds of monsters out there, Hana, what if you get hurt?"

Hanataro's eyes widened, then he smiled. So _this_ is what this is about…he should have known.

"Nell…you're afraid that I won't come back, aren't you," he said softly. Nell nodded, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She rolled over, back to Hanataro.

"Nell, look at me Nell." Hanataro commanded gently. Slowly, Nell rolled back over. Hanataro had propped himself up on an elbow and had turned himself to face her, "Nell, you don't have to worry, I'm going to come back safely."

"But-but everyone says that the fourth division is the weakest! If you go out there, you could get killed!" Nell said sitting up and pointing at him.

Hanataro sighed and sat up fully, supporting his body with one arm, the other draped across a knee.

"Nell, despite what it I look like, I can fight. And it's not like I'm going on my own, I'll have someone else going with me, I'm honestly along mostly for backup and teaching purposes. You remember what I'm teaching Sentaro and Kiyone? Well, this is something similar, though I'm not teaching Jutsu, I'm teaching a totally different set of skills," Hanataro explained.

"But what if you don't? Creepy Clown Guy-"

"Is not going to come anywhere near you while you're in 11th division." Hanataro interrupted firmly. "Nell, I wouldn't leave you if I didn't think you were going to be safe. If I had to, I would take you along with me. But don't you think that spending time with Yachiru is better than spending time on the road?" he asked, pulling her into a one-arm hug.

"I guess…" Nell murmured, clutching at his sleeping robes and burring her face in them. _'He smells different, like blood and smoke…'_ she thought as he patted her head.

"Then it's settled. Now, how about we go to sleep, we both have a big day tomorrow," Hanataro said, laying back down, Nell curling up against him.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro woke to the pale dawn light.

Blinking blearily, he sat up. Something beside him shifted, turning he saw Nell curl up at the lack of warmth. Hanataro smiled and got ready for his trip, as well as for Nell's stay at the 11th division.

Pulling out the canvas bag he used for his trips into the tunnels, he added to it two sets of Shinigami robes, some medic supplies and another set of sandals. There was still a lot of room in his pack. He sat back, thinking as to what he needed to bring.

Without even realizing it, he was up, moving across the floor to the closet and taking out a plain wooden box. Inside the box was his Ninja gear, the same gear that he wore in the war, and the same gear he couldn't bring himself to throw away…no matter how many times he tried. Opening the box, he took out his two ninjaken and set them gently aside. Next came a plain black tank top and black pants. Off to the side of the box were the arm guards, a dull grey, the battles chipping off the bone white enamel. Beside them was a set of plain ninja sandals. Both of these items he set aside in the pile of things to add to his pack. Closing and putting away the box, he added the last of the items in at the very bottom, replacing everything else on top of it.

Last, he gathered the things Nell would need and waked her up. They walked in silence to the 11th, Nell hugging him tightly before leaving to play with Yachiru.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai watched as Hanataro left Nell at the 11th division, grinning slightly.

_'Don't worry brother, I'll keep your kiddies safe,'_ he thought as he started out for 13th division to tell Sentaro and Kiyone the news.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The sun was still low in the sky, just barely clearing the walls when Rangiku came up to the gate. Beside her was a large pack.

"Are you sure that you can carry all of that? It's going to be a long trip," Hanataro said, coming up behind her.

"Whahh!" Rangiku yelped, jumping in surprise, "Don't scare me like that! My chest almost fell out…"Rangiku chided, once she had regained control over her heartbeat and made sure that she hadn't 'fallen out'.

"Opps, sorry. Are you ready to go, Vice Captain?" Hanataro asked.

"Yup!" Rangiku chirped, heaving her oversized pack onto her back, "Oh, Hana?"

"Yes?"

"Just call me Rangiku. Having someone who's suppose to be my teacher call me 'Vice Captain' all the time is creepy…"

"Whatever you say, Vi-Rangiku…" Hanataro said, chuckling.

And with that, the two set out through the gate, into the early morning light.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

And that is the end of this chapter!

Much thanks to those that reviewed. Remember that there is a forum for this story, so feel free to start discussing things there. In fact, I DARE you to start a new thread or post on an old one!

Come up with questions and things like that to ask me, It helps me write when I have something to focus on. I'm sorry that this doesn't have any action in it, but it was necessary for future incidents to take place. Promise.


	14. Soul Territory

Once again, Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and all mentions of Final Fantasy 7 belongs to….whoever made the game in the first place, but not me.

Chapter 14: Soul Territory

Hanataro set a reasonable pace through the city outside the gate. They made their way through the districts, reaching the edge of district three by the end of the day. They set up camp outside of the town at Hanataro's insistence.

The fire crackled merrily as the two set up their sleeping bags.

"Hey Hana, why are we camping out here when there was room at the inn?" Rangiku asked.

Hanataro looked up from the pot or rice over the fire and said, "Because we can't start you lesions if you're distracted by everyone else," he explained, sitting back.

"Lessons! You want to start them _now_?" Rangiku moaned, disbelief evident in her voice.

"Well, yes. Two months really isn't a lot of time for you to learn about your Empathic abilities," Hanataro said, leaning forward to check the fish.

Rangiku moaned again, falling backwards onto her bed, "But Haaannnnaaaaaaaa…._Why_ do we have to train now?" She whined, turning to face Hanataro.

Hanataro fixed her with a surprisingly piercing stare. "Rangiku," he began, disapproval lacing his voice, "If you do not want to learn now to shield you mind, say so now and we will return to Soul Society. There is still a lot of work that I could be helping with," he said, taking the fish off of the fire.

Rangiku shifted guiltily, finally she sighed, "All right, you win, what am I suppose to do?" she asked, sitting up.

Hanataro's frown disappeared, replaced by a small smile.

"Well, first we should eat," he said, handing her a portion of the fish and a bowl of rice. Taking both, she bit into the fish viciously. Finishing the fish, she started on the rice and froze.

"What the Hell did you just do?" she demanded, rice forgotten.

Hanataro looked at her blankly for a moment then smiled, "So you caught that?" he said, setting down his empty rice dish.

Rangiku just looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"'What I did' was alter my body language to emphasize my disappointment in your unwillingness to learn," Hanataro said.

"You 'altered your body language'." Rangiku repeated, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes. The human body shows emotions in things like posture, tenseness-and what parts of a person are tense- tone of voice and facial expressions. By learning how to control the impulses that come with a specific emotion, you can 'broadcast' different emotions."

Rangiku blinked, "That sounds…complicated…" she said, amazed at the implications of what she just heard.

"Aa, it is. But on the other hand, it is very useful. Even more so for us, because of our Empathic abilities."

"Why?"

Hanataro leaned back, lying down on his side like Rangiku. He was quiet for a moment before saying "Because…with our Empathic abilities, we can 'project' our emotions onto others. For example, if someone were to use body-language to scare or frighten someone, the average person could make whoever they were trying to scare mildly afraid. Empaths like us could do the same thing and in addition, we could 'project' fear."

Rangiku stared at Hanataro. "We…we can do stuff like that?" she said in amazement and a little fear.

"Aa. That is why you have to learn control as soon as you can. Eventually, you could subconsciously start projecting your emotions." Hanataro said, rolling onto his back to stare at the sky.

"That's…kinda scary…" Rangiku said.

"Mmm. Anyway, it's late and we have a fair amount of ground to cover in the morning. We should probably go to sleep." Hanataro said, getting up to bank the fire for the night.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

They traveled in a similar fashion for another four days. The day would start with Rangiku waking up to whatever Hanataro decided to cook, which was often rice or oatmeal. After that they would pack up and move out, passing through the cities and towns. They would eat lunch while walking and would stop when the sun was down. Then Hanataro would give her the theory to skills that she would be practicing when they finally stopped.

On the 6th day, things changed. Hanataro led her off the path they had been following and onto a faint side-path. It went back into the trees, toward a mountain. Late in the evening, they broke though the trees and into a small clearing.

Rangiku gasped in amazement. It was a beautiful place, there was a crystal clear lake in front of them, surrounded on three sides by high cliffs veined with a glowing crystal. Grass grew tall and trees of all kinds filled the space.

Hanataro led her down into the clearing along a path that curved along the shore, stopping at a cave. Inside the cave, the same crystals that were on the cliffs shone with a clear, pale green light.

Hanataro dropped his pack and stretched, his back making a series of popping sounds.

"Well, here we are, our home for the next two months," Hanataro said, unpacking his pack and setting out his bedroll.

"Hanataro, where are we?" Rangiku asked, copying Hanataro.

"We are in one of the few places where the Lifestream has crystallized within the earth." Hanataro said, starting a fire.

"Lifestream?"

"Yes, the great river of souls that leads to reincarnation," Hanataro said, coaxing the flickering flame to life.

"Oh, so this crystal…is made of people's souls?" Rangiku asked, reaching out to touch a vein of the crystal.

"It's not all one soul, more like it's many fragments of thousands of souls that have surfaced and condensed until they became crystal." Hanataro said, getting out the dinner supplies. He looked at the remaining food and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Rangiku asked, seeing the frown.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, we're just running lower on rice and such sooner then I planned," Hanataro said, pointing to his bag. Rangiku leaned over and looked into the bag. Sure enough they were running low on rice, oatmeal and things like dried fruits and cheese.

"Aww… there's maybe four days left of food there." Rangiku moaned, pointing at the food.

"Not really, we can supplement it with the wild foods growing around here," Hanataro said, "The closest town is a full day trip and I'd rather not go quite yet," Hanataro said, "And on top of that, there isn't going to be a lot places that sell food, as there isn't a lot of Soul Reapers out in this direction."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The morning sun broke over the cliffs to shine into the cave, adding to the glow of the Mako crystals. Rangiku opened her eyes blearily. She smelled something, breakfast, cooking away and the soft 'thumps' of Hanataro's footsteps. One of the things that had surprised her about him, he was near-silent when he walked, more silent then even some of the captains.

"You should get up now, or your oatmeal will burn," Hanataro said from beside the fire.

Another was that he always seemed to know if she was awake or not.

Rangiku obeyed sleepily, running her fingers though her long strawberry blond hair. She took her bowl from Hanataro and was surprised to find fresh fruit mixed in.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Mid morning found the two of them seated on boulders by the waters' edge.

"Ok, so what are we going to be doing first?" Rangiku asked, surprisingly eager to learn.

"First we have to demolish both the shield I created and your own natural shield," Hanataro said, perched easily on the boulder. Rangiku shifted nervously on her boulder.

"Ahh, don't worry. I can shield my emotions from you so you don't have to worry about that, and nobody else is close enough for you to pick up on them," Hanataro said, correctly reading her look.

She took a deep breath and nodded. Almost immediately, the warmth that she had associated with his shield disappeared. Next, a sound similar to breaking glass sounded, and somehow Rangiku knew that it was her own shield. True to his words, Rangiku felt no other emotions other than her own.

"Now, what you have to do is go to your Soul Territory. It's the same place where you meet the spirit of your Zanpakutō, so it will be easy for you to get there. I'll follow you, there I can guide you in the next step." Hanataro said calmly, confidently.

Rangiku nodded and pictured her Soul Territory. She felt a gentle presence, on the edge of her consciousness. It was Hanataro. She wasn't sure how she knew it was him, but she knew it. As she descended into her Soul Territory, she could feel him trailing along behind her at a distance.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

When Rangiku opened her eyes, she was standing in the world of her Zanpakutō. Looking around, she did not see Hanataro.

"Hey Hannaaaaa! Where're you??" She called out.

"I'm right behind you, there's no need to yell," Hanataro said.

Rangiku jumped, spinning around, "Damn it Hana. Stop sneaking up on me like that!" she yelled at him. Hanataro just smiled slightly and apologized.

Rangiku stomped off, muttering about shrimpy bastards who got unholy amusement in scaring the daylights out of others. Hanataro, having hung back slightly, smiled in amusement. After all, with family like his, how could he not have a slightly twisted sense of humor?

(((Guesses as to who his family is!)))

"Oi Hana!" Rangiku called from ahead.

"Yes?"

"What the Hell are we looking for anyway? Get up here and show me where we're going!" She called back irritably.

Hanataro jogged down the path to join up with his 'student'.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"So…this is the door to my Soul?" Rangiku said, looking at the looming doors in front of her.

"Looks like. Now, when you go through those doors, you'll have to start to 'organize' everything. And while you're doing that, build walls around yourself. I can't explain it better than that, you will know what to do once you get there." Hanataro said, looking Rangiku directly in the eyes.

Rangiku nodded once. She didn't quite know what she was doing, but Hanataro hadn't lied yet, and she didn't think that he would start now.

"I'll leave after you step though the doors. When you feel that you've done all that you can for the day, come back to the real world."

Rangiku nodded once again and turned to face the doors. She took a deep breath and opened them, stepping inside.

Hanataro watched her enter, the doors closeing with a resounding '_thunk'_. He looked at the sky for a moment and disappeared in a flurry of silver streams.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

And that is the end of that!

Anyone care to guess who Hanataro's related to?

I'll give you one hint:

None of his aunts and uncles are related to him by blood. A.k.a.: they are all honorary family!


	15. Cetra and Hotsprings

Chapter 15 : Lifestream and Hot-springs

Rangiku suppressed a shutter as the doors closed behind her. Looking around, she found herself in a long hall. The hall was large; cool grey stones covered the floor and walls, the ceiling high above. The walls were covered in trailing green vines.

About to turn down one of the side, paths, something stopped her. Looking down the main hall, she could swear that she saw some kind of light. Squinting, she could make out something at the end of it.

Making her way forward, she soon saw that the glow actually came from a ball of glowing threads. Looking at it, Rangiku could instantly tell that something was wrong. A second later, she had it. Be4is and pieces of light were flaking off, the ropes of light that made the ball were loose and tangled, even as they were attached to the walls.

_"I need to change this, but how?"_ she asked herself. The answer came to her almost immediately: this was her soul, her mind. She reached out her hands and touched the ball of light.

Her vision blacked out. All around her, ropes of light twisted and weaved. She was suspended in what appeared to be mid-air, more ropes under her feet.

"Ok, this is _my_ soul right? So it should do what _I_ say." She said aloud. Going on a hunch, she touched the nearest rope and followed it. Soon, she found that it wound its way around another, snagging. She eased the two ropes apart, continuing on until hi split into many hair-fine strands. Shrugging, she turned back and repeated the process with another rope.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Rangiku opened her eyes blearily. She stretched, feeling her spine make a string of pops.

"Ah, back at last," Hanataro said as she stumbled stiffly into their temporary home.

"Gah, I didn't realize I spent so much time there," Rangiku moaned, blushing as her stomach voiced its own complaint. Hanataro smiled softly and handed her a bowl of stew. Rangiku wordlessly took the offered food and ate happily.

"So, how'd it go?" he asked after she had finished.

"Not bad," Rangiku said and described what had happened.

Hanataro leaned back against the wall of the cave, deep in thought. "Well…those halls would have led to your memories, had you followed them. The ball of ropes made of light were….how to explain…" he trailed off, falling silent for a moment to think.

"Think of that as your un-diluted 'self'. Your soul, in other words. It's basically what separates you from someone else. It's basically a small portion of the Lifestream." He said, leaning his head back to rest against the rock wall, his eyes closed in thought.

"Did you see a different colored rope?"

"Yes,"

"That is your link to the Lifestream. Don't try and follow it down, because if you do, then there is no guarantee that you will make your way back to your body." Hanataro said seriously, blue-grey eyes locking onto her.

Rangiku shivered slightly, he looked so serious, almost deadly…"Hana, you've said it twice, what is this 'Lifestream'?" she asked.

Hanataro blinked, the icy, deadly look disappearing.

"Didn't I tell you? The Lifestream is the great river of souls, the final step before reincarnation. You see, when we die here, our souls will join with the Lifestream. For normal souls and shinigami, their souls will break apart, disintegrating to create new souls. We are what are called 'Cetra'. When we die here, we won't automatically disintegrate; we will go to the center, the 'heart' of the planet. From there, we have a choice: we can either help to guide the flow of the planet's energy or reincarnate like everyone else. We can also communicate with the planet."

"Communicate with the planet? You mean that it has a soul of its own?"

Hanataro 'humm'ed, "In a way, she does…however, it also has pieces of souls from hundreds of thousands of beings, so sometimes she is hard to understand, because of the background noise."

"The soul of the planet is female," Rangiku said, grinning crazily, "Awesome!"

Hanataro just smiled.

Rangiku looked at Hanataro oddly for a moment, "You are something else, you know that?"

"Eh?"

"Well, for one thing, you agreed to train me on a moments' notice, even while taking care of Nell-chan. You carried the majority of the food, and cooked it and on top of that, you did it without whining once. Most of the people that I know would have lost patience with the amount of questions that I've asked by now," Rangiku said musingly, "And no matter what, you always seem to have this quiet smile on your face, like you know that everything is going to turn out alright."

Hanataro blushed, unused to praise like that coming from anyone, "I'm sure that your friends would be understanding and try to help you,"

"But that's just it Hana! Before we left, we'd never even talked before, we were complete strangers to each other, yet you agree to two months with me on a 'mission' out in the middle of nowhere. I don't know many people that would do something like this…Captain Ukitake might, or Captain Unohana….but not anyone else…." Rangiku mused, drifting off into silence.

A short while later, her breathing evened out, signifying that she had fallen asleep.

Hanataro glanced up at her for a moment, before banking the fire and followed her into slumber.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro sighed as he relaxed in the natural hot-spring. He leaned back against the rock and allowed all of the tension to fade away. He wasn't worried about Rangiku finding him, she was working on her shields and wouldn't be coming out of her trance any time soon.

The hot-spring was tucked away in another cave, all but hidden. Mako crystals had lined the tunnel leading to the hot-spring and the roof, providing plenty of light. His eyelids drooped, the heat of the hot-spring soothing him into sleep. Within minutes, he was fast asleep in the water.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Rangiku returned to the 'real world'. Stretching, she set out in search of her teacher.

_'That's odd, it's already lunch time, where is he?'_ Rangiku asked herself as she looked around the cave that she shared with him.

"If he's no here then….Baka!" she shouted, hitting herself with the palm of her hand. Closing her eyes, she searched for his reiatsu.

Setting off, she made her way along the lake's edgy to the side of the cliff. She found the entrance to a cave, lined with even more of the glowing Mako crystals. Once inside the cave, she noticed that it had gotten marginally hotter. She followed the short path noting that the air got more humid as she got farther in. The tunnel widened into a larger cavern, lit by Mako crystals.

Stepping into the cave, Rangiku nearly tripped. Looking at what she stumbled over, Rangiku picked up a black Gi.

Now immensely curious, Rangiku kept moving into the cavern. Now that she was looking, she was able to see a large body of water in the center of the cave. Coming closer to the bank, she had to choke back a laugh.

Leaning back against the side of the pool was Hanataro, fast asleep.

A grin found its way onto Rangiku's face and had Captain Hitsugaya been there, he would have advised Hanataro to run away as far and as fast as he could. You see, a wonderful, terrible idea had come to her.

Grinning, Rangiku slipped out of most of her clothes, leaving on her white under-Gi useing her scarf to tie it closed, and got into the hot-spring.

Hanataro was still fast asleep when Rangiku sat down beside him on the wide rock ledge. He mumbled something and slipped forward. Rangiku's hands shot forward and caught him, leaning him carefully back against the side of the hot-spring. She held her breath as he shifted, releasing it when he stopped moving.

It was too soon. Hanataro started to slide again, only this time he slid sideways-right into her! She was about to push him back up, but something caught her attention. In the dim light provided by the Mako crystals, pale white scares glowed, contrasting with the other darker scars. As she looked closer, she could make out more and more scars dotting his upper back. She stared in horrified fascination at the scars, they looked old and very painful.

Unable to help herself, she reached up and touched a particularly nasty scar on his shoulder. Hanataro shifted at the touch, blue-grey eyes opening blearily. Whatever he had fallen asleep against was really soft… Hanataro froze and then looked up to meet Rangiku's blue eyes.

Comprehension hit him like a speeding train. His face flushed ruby-red and he scrambled backward, "R-R-Rangiku!" he yelped, trying to look anywhere but her.

Rangiku forced a grin, "Well, I got done and you had disappeared, so I decided to come looking for you," she pretended to look hurt, "You could have told me there were hot-springs here,"

"Sorry…I found them this morning," he said, still looking anywhere but where she was. This made the scars on his upper chest visible as well as the ones on his back.

Rangiku looked at him, more accurately at his scars, "Hana…where….where did you get those scars?" she asked slowly. Hanataro froze, breathing in deeply, he forced himself to relax.

_'Baka! Of course she would have seen them!'_ he thought as he scrambled to find an answer. He mentally shook himself when he realized what he was doing. It was time to stop running from the past.

"It…was war," he said softly and slowly, the words not wanting to come, "A great war between the Shinobi villages of Oto and Konoha. I was young when it started, about six, so I don't really remember what life was like before the war. Both Mother and Father were powerful Shinobi themselves. I was also trained in the Shinobi arts along with my brothers, these scars are from various battles."

Rangiku stared at Hanataro. He was a Shinobi…? She could not see him fighting anyone, let alone being in the middle of a battle field. But the proof was right in front of her, etched onto his skin for the rest of his life.

"Hard to believe, huh?" Hanataro said, echoing her thoughts, his right hand coming up to grip his right bicep, as though covering something. His eyes became distant, as though he was remembering something.

"Hana…?"

Hanataro jumped, showing that he had indeed been lost in thought, "What?"

"I don't think that you're making this up, but you seem too…young to go into war, you only look to be fourteen at the most,"

Hanataro winced, "Yeah, I know. There was malnutrition during the last four years of the war, and add that to the amount of injuries that I managed to get…needless to say, my body put itself on a kind of 'suspended animation' meaning that I stopped growing physically at fourteen."

(A/N: I am totally making this up, I have no idea if this is even possible, but I'm thinking not in the real world…)

Rangiku mused over this for a moment, "That makes sense…so how old should you look?"

"About eighteen, nineteen."

Rangiku stared at him in disbelief, "You were _eighteen_ and you were sent off to war?"

"No, not eighteen. Twelve."

"That's even worse! How could they send children out to war?" Rangiku raged, slapping the water angrily, "Didn't your parents try to stop you?" she demanded angrily.

Every muscle in Hanataro's body tensed, his eyes freezing over and turning to a dark gray that looked black in the light.

"Hana?"

"My Father had died six years before and my mother lost touch with reality around the same time." He said shortly.

"Huh? But didn't you have any other relatives that you could go and live with?" Rangiku asked, knowing that she was prying but unable to help herself.

Hanataro sighed, "No, Grandma Tsunande was too old, and far too busy with her work at the hospital, my aunts and uncles were up to their necks in both their clan business and with the war, not to mention their own children, so they didn't have the time for another. As for other family, Mother was an only child and her parents had already passed on, Father was the last surviving member of his clan, along with Uncle Itachi, but he was behind enemy lines, gathering information for several years, then after that he fought on the frontlines. So I stayed in the family home, with my Mother," Hanataro said flatly.

Rangiku stared opened-mouthed at him. He was saying this as though it was a fact of everyday life. It hit her like a ton of bricks- for him that _was_ everyday life.

"Hana, that's…not right," she said, her voice coming out as a choked whisper.

"It wasn't so bad, Nee-san was there, and Ji-chan too. Though they weren't actually related to me. They were travelers and got caught in the middle of the war, so I let them stay with me in the extra rooms." Hanataro said, wiping wet hair out of his face.

Rangiku crossed her arms, "That's not the point. Did the two of them at least take care of you?" she demanded.

Hanataro chuckled, "Not like what you think. I was the one who cooked, because Nee-chan was too lazy and Ji-chan should never be allowed into the kitchen for any reason. One time, we had to call in a Bio-hazard control unit when he decided to cook rice," he said, smiling. "Nee-chan helped me with my training, when she wasn't doing recon missions of her own, and Ji-chan helped me with my homework and made sure Mother didn't do anything like try to poison my dinner."

"Your mother tried to poison you?" Rangiku exclaimed in outrage. The more she heard about his childhood, the angrier she became. And the fact that he seemed to accept it made it even worse.

"Yes, she alternated between thinking that she was waiting for Father to come home, she thought I was a servant, and a murderous rage where blaming me for Father's death and tried to kill me."

Rangiku stared at him in shock and horror. "Your own mother…she tried to kill you…?" She asked faintly, silently begging him to tell her it was a joke.

His dark eyes turned, locking onto hers, "Yes."

She was moving before she thought, her arms automatically wrapping him in a hug, as though he was a small child who had a bad dream. Hanataro's body had stiffened, becoming steel-stiff, making her wonder how many hugs he had ever gotten. Not many, biased on his reaction. Slowly, he relaxed into her hug. Through her white gi, she could feel warm water and it took her a second to realize that it was his tears.

She rubbed his back gently, whispering words of comfort to him as he continued to cry on her shoulder. She wasn't sure how much time passed, all she knew was that soon Hanataro was pulling away from her, blushing beet red and stammering apologies.

Rangiku held up a hand to silence him, saying "Hanataro, one more thing. What were their names?"

Hanataro thought for a moment before saying, "Their names were…Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha."

"Uchiha? Then you…"

"Yes, I was born Yui Uchiha."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

I have wanted to write the last scene for a very long time. It was very fun to do as well.

Love it, hate it, give suggestions.

Solid facts as of now:

Sakura and Sasuke were his parents.

He has a mysterious Nee-chan and Ji-chan (would someone tell me if I have this right?) who lived with him.

Sakura went over the deep end and tried to kill him on multiple occasions.


	16. Tsunade, Masaki and Uncle Kyuubi

This is my Christmas gift to you----an extra-long chapter.

Final fanasy 7, 8, and 10 do not belong to me.

Neither do Naruto or Bleach.

All belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 16: Tsunade, Masaki and Uncle Kyuubi

Eventually, the two were able to make it out of the hot-spring. Hanataro/Yui however kept his gaze firmly on the ground in front of him and not on the laughing blond right behind him.

"Aww…don't be so embarrassed, Yui-chaaannn," she said, coming up behind him and pulling him into a hug. Due to his height, or lack thereof, his head was squished right between her breasts.

"Eyah!" Yui yelped, struggling to get out of her grip. "Rangiku! Let me go!" he yelped, twisting about and trying every trick that he knew to get away from the laughing blond. Finally, he was able to get away. Blushing furiously he ran ahead.

"Ne…still so innocent," Rangiku said.

Yui's face went even redder. She laughed as they continued along the path back to the cave, Yui still not looking anywhere but the ground.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Three Days Later

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Yui was still not able to look Rangiku in the face, though he wasn't constantly blushing. Rangiku on the other hand found the entire thing amusing. They were on their way to buy food, seeing as they had finally run out. The reason that Rangiku was coming? Yui had decided that her shields were strong enough for the amount of people in the town.

They approached the town around mid-morning. It wasn't the pristine streets of district one, but the streets were still on good repair and the buildings didn't look as though they were going to fall in at the first wind. They joined the market crowd, gaining a few odd stares due to their uniforms.

"Oh Yui, look!" Rangiku said, pointing at a stand. Before he knew it, he was being dragged down the street to the shop. He sweat-dropped as Rangiku dug through the bins of clothing.

"Rangiku, we don't really have time for this," Yui said, "Besides, don't you have enough clothing?"

Rangiku's head came up from one of the bins, "These aren't for me, they're for you. Though I'll probably get a few outfits too," she said, glancing at the other side of the stand. Yui sighed, looking around. It was big, as far as market stands went; there wasn't a distinct girls and boys side, though he spotted some clothes that were defiantly made for a girl. Unusual about this shop was that it sold real world clothing as well as the traditional clothing.

"I have plenty of clothing," he protested, already recognizing this as a losing battle; however his pride would not let him go down without a fight. She predictably ignored him, holding up a honey-brown Gi to him, frowned, and threw it back onto the bin.

"Yui, you brought two spare outfits, both of which are worn thin," she said now with a pale red one in hand. "And what's wrong with that? They fit fine and don't have any holes in them," he protested, shoving the Gi away.

"Not yet, but they look like they're going to fall apart any day now. When is the last time that you went shopping?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"Er…well….um…" he floundered, looking for an answer and finding nothing. "Uh huh, not for a very long time right," Rangiku said, grinning triumphantly.

"Well, yes but-"

"And I'm willing to bet that you don't own any clothing but your uniform, am I right?"

"Well…" technically, his ANBU outfit counted as a uniform…

"Then I'm doing you a favor," Rangiku said, holding up a pale gray Gi to him. She nodded once and draped it over her arm. "How is this a favor?" he asked, exasperated.

"Do you know how to shop for clothes?"

"What's to know? If it fits, wear it!" he said, throwing his hands up and acting for all the world like the nineteen year old he claimed to be.

"And that proves it. You go shop for food, I'll be getting you some decent clothing," she said, pushing him out the door. Returning to the bins, the lady that owned the stall said, "Is he your brother?"

Rangiku shook her head in the universal 'no'.

"Heh, sure coulda fooled me,"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Yui walked through the crowds, muttering about crazy women and clothes shopping. Finally he found what he was looking for-a dry goods store. Entering the store, he quickly found what he needed and was out of there before long.

A delicious aroma drew his attention once he left the shop. There was a small stand selling stir-fry across from the dry goods store. Looking up, he saw that it was past mid-day. Walking across the street, he purchased two bowls of stir-fry.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Rangiku had finished purchasing three outfits for both Yui and herself, Yui's being all interchangeable. She was currently dozing underneath of a tree near the shop, her purchases spread on either side of her. A delicious smell slowly woke her up. Yui was crouching beside her with two bowls of stir fry, his pack now full sitting beside him. "It's past lunch, are you hungry?" he asked, offering her a bowl. Rangiku sat up and took the offered bowl, inhaling the contents. Yui eyed the bags sitting beside Rangiku, "So are you done then?"

She nodded.

"Good, I got what we needed, so we can leave any time now," Yui said, setting aside his empty dish. Rangiku finished her stir fry, nodding.

They were on their way out of town when the wall of the bar in front of them exploded outward.

"You goddamed PERVERT!" shouted an extremely annoyed blond said, stepping out of the hole in the wall. The blond woman had long hair tied back into pig tails. Hazel eyes glared at the cowering individual before her.

Yui could not believe his eyes, The wall had exploded outward and then his Grandma had stepped through the wall. He was aware that Rangiku was asking him something, but his attention was focused on his Baa-chan.

"Grandma Tsunade?"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Tsunade was not pleased. It was the first bar she had seen in _ages_ and she had been looking forward to a nice long drink when some perverted jackass decided to grope her. Reacting, she punched the bastard through the wall. Stepping through the newly-created door way, she was about to beat the offender into oblivion when…

"Grandma Tsunade?"

Time seemed to freeze. Rangiku was surprised, Yui knew this lady? Reaching out with her Empathic abilities, she could feel his shock, surprise, and a growing hope.

"Yui?" the lady, Tsunade, asked. Her voice came out choked.

Yui could not speak, he could only nod dumbly.

The distance between the two shrank as Tsunade moved and swept Yui into a fierce hug with Yui returning with just as much strength. "I found you," she whispered fiercely, tears running down her face. A second figure stepped through the hole. Burnt orange hair was tied back into a loose pony-tail and kind brown eyes focused on the two rejoined family members. She smiled as she tapped Tsunade on the shoulder gently.

"Umm, Tsunade-san, who is he?" she asked, breaking up the moment. "Right. Masaki, this is one of my Grandsons, Yui Uchiha. Yui, this is Masaki Kurosaki." Tsunade said, her hand clamped firmly on his shoulder, as if afraid he might run away.

"Kurosaki? Are you related to a person by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki?" Rangiku asked, entering into the conversation.

"Yes, he's my son. Is he…?" She trailed off fearfully.

Rangiku waved her hands franticly, "NO, he's not dead. He's one of the Ryoka." Rangiku said.

"What?"

"It's a very long story," Yui said, interrupting them before they got started, "Why don't we find a place to sit and talk about it?" Masaki nodded mutely, desperate for information on her son.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Ten minutes later the group of four was seated under a tree at the edge of the town. Rangiku was telling Masaki all about the Ryoka incident, with Yui adding detail when necessary. Masaki herself was in a mild state of shock, hearing all that her son had gone through. "He…why did they take away his license? He can't defend himself without it, right?" Masaki asked, horrified.

"Partly because two ranking Shinigami followed him, one being capable of Bankai and the other capable of Shikai. With the war coming up fast, there is a need for people at their power level," Yui said.

"That brings up a good question," Tsunade said, leaning forward, "What are you doing so far away from Soul Society?"

"I'm teaching Rangiku to control her Empathic abilities, she's also a Cetra," Yui replied.

"So where are you staying?" Rangiku asked Masaki.

"Well, we were staying in a room above the bar, but…" Masaki looked at Tsunade who looked away sheepishly. "Perfect, then you can stay with us!" Rangiku said, clapping her hands happily.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to interrupt your training," Masaki said, trailing off.

"Actually, it would be good for her to get used to other people around on a regular basis, ones who don't shield their minds," Yui said.

"Come on, there's a hot-spring there! And it will give Yui-chan a chance to catch up!"

Tsunade turned to Yui, a single eyebrow raised, "'Yui-chan'?" she asked.

Yui shrugged.

She turned back to Rangiku, "You mentioned a hot-spring?"

"Yup. Yui-chan found it, then I found a few days ago, then I found him."

"Oh?"

"No. Rangiku, don't you _dare_ say _anything._" Yui threatened once he saw the look on her face. Rangiku grinned and told the other two ladies about the trick she had played on him and his reaction.

B y the end, Yui was staring at the ground in front of him, completely mortified while his Grandma was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face. Beside her, Masaki was also trying to silence her giggles.

"Bwahahahahaha!" Tsunade laughed, clutching her gut, "S-sorry _Yui-chan_ but-but that's just too funny!" she gasped out, finally controlling her laughter. Yui glared at her, sending her into another bout of laughter. He sighed, "We should get going, it's a good two hours walk from here and it's getting late. If we don't get going, we will be walking in the dark," he said, looking up at the sky. Indeed, the sun was sinking rapidly.

The four gathered their belongings and made their way back to the lake-side cave. Thankfully, there was enough room for Tsunade and Masaki as well. Yui made a simple meal that night, soup, seeing as everyone was ready for bed.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The next morning turned out to be gray and cloudy. Yui was the first one to wake up. Upon seeing the clouts, he immediately woke the others. "It looks like there's a heavy storm coming. I think we should move into the hot-spring cave for now, I say a branch-off tunnel there. It could lead to another cave." Yui said hurriedly.

Tsunade surveyed the scent outside. Dark, ominous clouds hung low in the sky. She nodded once, "Sounds like a good idea. We'll be more protected there."

Without further thought, the group of four packed up and ran for the other cave just as the wind started to pick up. By the time they got there, the winds picked up and blew fiercely through the valley. Stumbling slightly, the four of them entered the tunnel, led by Yui. He led them through the tunnel, to a branch-off tunnel that was all but invisible due to the dim lighting. They followed it back, coming out at a larger cavern then the one that they were staying in before. It was also warm there, no doubt due to the hot-spring near by. They dropped their packs in the Mako-lit cave and looked around. As the girls explored, Yui took out a thin box with a seal on it.

Opening it, he withdrew a slim bottle that was plucked out of his hands by Rangiku. "Yui-chan, what's this?" she asked, peering at the small pills in the bottle. Tsunade took the bottle from Rangiku and examine it, "Looks like some kind of pain pill, " her hazel eyes narrowed piercingly, "For your scars right?"

Yui nodded, catching the bottle. Opening it, he let two pills fall into the palm of his hand. Without a second thought, he dry-swallowed the pills. "Why do you need pain pills for your scars?" Rangiku asked curiously. Yui winced, "Remember the scars you saw? I have scars like that all over my body. When it gets stormy like this, or really cold, they tighten and my muscles get tight so it gets hard to move. It isn't so bad now, seeing as I've been more active for the last few days then I have been for a long time, but not nearly enough to keep them from tighten up," Yui said, putting the pills back in their case.

"Oh, so winter-"

"Is hell," Yui finished, "At least first thing in the morning."

An idea formed in her head, "You said your muscles were tense, right?"

"Yes..."

"I have an idea. Lay down on your bedroll, on your stomach," Rangiku ordered.

"Eh?"

"Just do it. You'll see," Rangiku ordered.

Hesitantly, Yui did as she asked, his chin resting on his folded arms. Rangiku kneeled beside him and started to gently massage his shoulders. She was surprised to find just how tight his shoulders were. No wonder he had problems moving-they were so tight they felt like rocks!

"Ouch! Owowowowowow! Rangiku!" he yelped, glaring over his shoulder. Rangiku grinned sheepishly, "Sorry!" She said, not stopping. Yui squirmed, trying to get away but a sharp rap on his head stopped him. "Don't move. I'm not done," Rangku scolded.

Yui frowned, "Why not? This is torture!"

Tsunade and Masaki watched in amusement as the two bickered back and forth like siblings. The two looked at each other and started snickering. This drew the attention of the other two.

"Why are you laughing?" Yui asked irritably.

"You two are acting like you're siblings!" Masaki said, muffling her laughter. The other two stared at her.

"You're the second person to say that," Rangiku said.

"Second? Who was the first?" Yui asked, no longer trying to escape.

"The owner of the clothing store. She said it after you left," Rangiku said, seizing the opportunity to continue her massage. Yui yelped in pain and tried to swat her away. Rangiku evaded the clumsy strikes and rapped him on the head again.

"Stop whining and stay still!"she ordered crossly.

"But it _hurts_!"

"And it will hurt more if you don't let me finish,"

Masaki kneeled on Yui's other side and massaged his shoulder. He tried to squirm away, but was stopped by roadblock-Rangiku. Giving into his fate, he stopped trying to get away and settled for wincing every time they poked a particular tight spot. His breath evened out as they continued to work, not even noticing when Rangiku stopped. Leaning over, she looked into his face. His eyes were closed and his face totally slack. His mouth was open slightly and leaning closer, Rangiku could hear him making a "Chuu Chuu" sound with every exhale.

She backed up, biting down on her lip to keep from laughing. "What's wrong?" Masaki asked.

"Listen to Yui-chan," Rangiku said. Puzzled, Masaki did as she was told. She covered her mouth and shook with silent laughter as she pulled back. Tsunade looked up from lunch and frowned.

"What's up with you two?" She asked, walking over. "Listen to Yui-chan," Rangiku said, calming down. Raising an eyebrow, Tsunade leaned close to the oblivious boy and grinned. Snickering, she backed off. She motioned to the other two to follow her. They did so but only after Masaki threw a blanket over him.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--..–.–.–.–.–.-

They sataroun the fire, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Tsunade, is it true? Did his mother really try and kill him?" Rangiku asked. Beside her, Masaki inhaled sharply. Tsunade looked up then back at the fire. "So he told you, huh?" She said, her voice sounding odd even to her own ears, m"Yeah...she tried to kill him, multiple times," she chucked harshly, saying "Not that he'd ever complain, gods no. She was his mother, she would snap out of it. He wouldn't move out of that damn house, and the councle refused to do anything. They even refused to let him be adopted because they wanted the Uchiha line to continue. And because of the war, we couldn't devote enough time to trying to force them to change their minds."

She stared at the fire, "I think that the best thing to happen to him, to all four of them, was the appearance of those two. They were the closest thing those boys had to parents."

"Who?" Rangiku asked, curious despite herself.

"Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara."

"What!" Rangiku shouted, her voice dropped to a whisper, "The ex-captain of the second division and the kido corps. and the ex-captain of the twelfth division captain _raised_ four boys, Yui included?" she asked, shocked/

"Yup. Yoruichi taught the boys everything she knew about taijutsu and shunpo while that pervert Kisuke taught them kido and made their weapons," A thoughtful look crossed her face, "Come to think of it, he called them something weird, zanpato or something like that."

Rangiku was greatfull that she was sitting down. "You're telling me that Yui, Mr. I-won't-hurt-a-fly Yui was trained by two of the stronger Captains and was given a zanpakuto while he was still alive?" She whispered fiercely.

"That's about right."

"So far, you've only talked about Yui, what about the other three?" Masaki asked re-entering the conversation. Tsunade thought for a moment., debating whether or not she should say any more then she already had. Glancing back at the sleeping boy, she came to a decision. She fixed the two girls with a piercing star, "What I tell you," she began, her eyes icy cold and as hard as steel, "You never tell anyone else. It does not go beyond this room, understand?"

The other two agreed quickly, wondering why it ws so important.

Tsunade sighed, "Kai no Sabaku is the one closest to Yui's age, he's only a year older. He's also known hm for the longest amount of time. His father ,Garra no Sabaku, was the Kazekage of Suna. Gaara died protecting his village and his people as they escaped to Konoha. His mother died in childbirth. He came to Konoha with the refuges and lived in an apartment with Yui as a frequent visitor.

"Yuri was the next 'addition' to their makeshift family. He came from Yukigakure. Another group of refugees. Yuki had been destroyed, he was one of only twenty survivors out of a village of almost fifty thousand. He and Kai stayed in the same apartment.

"The last one, Akira, he was..a captive of first his own village and then of Orochimaru. He...was the jinchuuriki of the seven-tailed dragon, Ragnarok. Both villages wanted to use him as a living weapon against the other. The boys, all three of them, where on a mission to destroy an Oto supply base. Akira was in the prison, waiting to be transported to Oto itself the following morning. At any rate, the three of them got caught before they could set off the explosives and were thrown into the cell across of him. Yui somehow convinced Akira to work with them to get out, and the come with them to Konoha. The four of them broke out of the prision and blew the entire place to hell. I remember the three standing in front of Naruto, begging him to allow Akira to stay in the village. Akira was terrified, but he hid it well. He kept one eye on the door all the time he was there. In the end, Akira ended up in the same apartment as Yuri and Kai. Though, Yui was there so often, he ended up with his own room there," Tsunade fell silent, staring at the fire.

"I...met Yuri once," Rangiku said, absorbing the information she had just been told, "He was the one who identified my powers. I... they were young when they started fighting, weren't they?"

"Yeah..."

Silence settled heavily among them.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--

Yui awoke to a field of white and yellow lilies, surround by a white sky. He felt two presences behind him. Turning, he saw Aerith and Bahamut in his child form. (Think Final Fantasy 10)

He smiled slighty, brushing his bangs out of his eyes, his long braided hair thumping against his back as th turned around. A strange thing about this place, he looked his age here. Instead of a small, sickly looking 14 year old looking Shinigami, a tall, slender young man of nineteen stood there, his hair long and thick in a braid that reached to he rear. Plain, loose black pants and a slim gray tee shirt clung to his slender frame.

"Hello again. I didn't think I'd be seeing you," he said, his eyes both happy to see them and sad because if he was seeing them, then there was bad news coming.

Aerith smiled sadly, "Hello to you as well. You already know that what we are here for is nothing pleasant. Things are happening again, bad things. Orochimaru is creating his monsters again, this you already know. But now he is creating them in far greater numbers and with far more Mako. With the device that Aizen has stolen, their combined forces are enough to destroy the entire world. On top of that, Aizen's hollow forces are being infused with pure Mako."

Yui froze.

Bahamut looked Yui in the eyes, "You know what will happen, don't you. The Shinigami will die. They are no longer the military power that they once were. They have become weak and complacent."

"What do you want me do? Fight? I've fought my war. Besides, I'm only one person, waht can one person do to change the way of thinking that has prevailed for hundreds of years? Besides that, I'm not one of the more respected Shinigami here. They would rather chop off their own limbs then admit that I might have a point," Yui said bitterly.

"Yui..."

"I know that. But you are more respected then you think. Yumichika Asagawa, Jushiro Ukitaki, Retsu Unohana, Rangiku Matsumoto, Kiyone Kotetsu, Sentaro Setsubaki. All of these are high-ranking Shinigami who respect you.," Bahamut said, "You will see. Events are starting to move, the wheel of fate is turning, soon fates will be decided and you must choose what you will do."

"Why did you come here?" Yui demanded angerly, "What do you want from me? I already fought my war and I lost all that I had."

"And if you continue to sit back you will loose all that you have gained!" Bahamut snapped, "You were once a warrior I was glad to Junction with. One that I was glad to fight beside. What happened to him? Will you stand by and do _nothing_ as all that you have worked hard to gain is destroyed before your very eyes?"

Yui stepped back, but could not deny Bahamut's words. He looked away, his hands clenching into fists and his nails biting deep into the palms of his hands. "I...do not want to fight. All I want to do is live my afterlife in peace," he said, swallowing hard.

"Yui..." Aerith said, wrapping her arms around him, his head resting on her shoulder. "You have fought since you were just a child, and now you're asked to fight again..."She pulled back, looking him in the eyes, her hands gripping his shoulders.

"This time, you will not fight alone. All of the Aeons are prepared to fight, either with a summoner or by Junctioning, but they will fight."

Yui looked to Bahamut, who nodded solemnly, "She is correct. We will fight as well. The only question remaining, is whether or not you will fight as well."

Thoughts filled his mind, memories of his time in Soul Society. Memories of his brothers, his adventure with Ichigo and Ganjuu and more recently, days spent with Nell and Yachiru. Memories of his time in the living world came also, memories of Yoru-nee and Kisuke-ji and of all of his aunts ond uncles. The kind face of Auntie Hinata and the laughing face of Uncle Naruto smiled at him. Uncle Kyuubi, an Aeon who had been corrupted but purifyied through extensive contact with Naruto, smirked his devil-may-care smirk at him through his me memories.

"Well brat, you decide what you're going to do you?" A familiar voice said from behind him. Whirling around, he grinned.

Standing behind him with his arms crossed was the Aeon Kyuubi no Kitsune. Red hair vell freely to his waist, while burning orange eyes laughed at him. He wore a simpleblood-red, skin tight shirt that cut off at the end of his ribs, showing off his well-toned abs. His pants were loose and charcoal black with two brown leather belts crossing both in front and behind him forming an 'X'. A second set of belts crossed over his chest in the same fashion holding a pair of large, curved swords to his back. Fox ears sat atop his head and nine majestic tails swished behind him.

"Uncle Kyu? What are you-?"

"Bahamut told me he was gonna drag you here, so I thought I'd check up on you," the nine-tailed fox said, shrugging.

"So what's this about you taking on students?" he asked, grinning.

Yui grinned and told his honary Uncle all about his three students, as well as his ward, Nell. At the end of his story, Kyuubi laughed. "So brattling, You've been busy since I've been gone. You look happier too, " Kyuubi said, " Not that I was around int the physical world enough to know whether you were happy or sad or what."

Orange eyes focused on Yui, "But my earlier question still stands, have you decided? You still have time, but not much."

Yui looked down "I ...do not want to fight, but at the same time..." he broke off, his hads fisting angerly.

"...But at the same time, you don't know if you could stay away from the battle feild. Face it Yui, you are a warrior at heart. You can't stand to see people you care about in pain and will fight heaven and hell to make sure that they are safe. Not to mention that the instinct to fight is in your blood as well..oh great and mighty Uchiha."

"You do not have do decide what you will do now, " Bahamut said from behind him, "but you do have to decide soon, or your choice will be made for you," Bahamut warned.

"Brattling, you're near a Mako stream, right?"

Yui nodded.

"Then I'll see if I can't drop in tomorrow. Hell, I'll drag out Ragnarok too," he grinned, "It'll be a perfect time to teach that student of yours all about Aeons and summoning."

Yui blinked, then a wide grin split his face, "Alright, I'll tell them."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Yui woke up and pushed off the blanket. Standing up, he saw the three other women sitting around the fire somberly. Standing, he stretched, his back popping as it re-aligned. Walking over to the three, he sat down between Tsunade and Rangiku.

"Uncle Kyu and Uncle Ragna will be dropping in tomorrow," Yui said as he helped himself to some of the soup.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "You visited that place again?"

"Yeah, Bahamut and Aerith wanted to talk to me, and Uncle Kyu found out and dropped by."

"Uh, could you explain? Who are 'Uncle Kyu' and 'Uncle Ragna' and Bahamut and Aerith?" Rangiku asked, confused.

Yui grinned, "Rangiku, do you know what an Aeon is?"


	17. Return

Thank you to all who reviewed.

And once again, Bleach still belongs t Tite Kubo.

Shijou-san: I would love to e-mail you, but you didn't leave your e-mail address so that I could! XD

I have mine posted on my profile page, but I'll put it here as well:

SorceressYueh gmail . com (without the spaces, of course!)

And no, I didn't find your review to be insulating; in fact, it was one of my most helpful ones yet!

Chapter 17: Return

* * *

Real World

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Ichigo sighed dully as he stared out the window of his classroom. It had been almost two months since he had been stripped of his substitute Shinigami license. Behind him Keigo, Tatsuki, and Mizuro watched their friend. "What do you think is wrong with him?" Tatsuki asked her two companions. Mizuro frowned, "I don't know, but Orihimi, Uryuu, Chad and Rukia haven't been here at all and his current mood started around then. Maybe the two are connected?" Keigo looked at his long time friend, "Where'd you come up with something like that?"

Mizuro sighed, his friend could be unnaturally dense at times, "Keigo, it's not that hard to see when you think about it."

"Stop it both of you," Tatsuki ordered, cutting off further argument, "We need to find out what's wrong with Ichigo," she looked at her forlorn friend, just sitting there looking outside and more than a little lost.

Ichigo was staring out the window, thinking of nothing, or trying to. Memories of his latest stay in the 4th division rose to his mind.

Flashback-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Ichigo opened his eyes blearily, realizing someone was poking him. He batted irritably at the poking-person with one hand and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the other. Someone snickered beside him. Opening his eyes fully, he turned to see Renji sitting beside him.

"Renji?" he asked, sitting up.

"Morning Berry-for-Brains," Renji said merrily, he sobered instantly. "Ichigo… Rukia and the others are still there."

Ichigo's face fell, a haunted look entering his eyes, 'No…but you got out-"

"No, I didn't 'get out'. I was sent back all but dead as a messenger. Apparently, it was just before Nell saved your sorry ass," Renji said, trying to lighten the mood. Ichigo's mouth twitched at his effort.

"What about Nell? Where is she?" Ichigo demanded. She was just a toddler, what if they-

"She's being held in one of the prison cells, I'm not sure what one," Renji said, pushing Ichigo back down onto the bed. "But-" he protested, however he was cut off by Renji, 'Look, all of the Captains and Vice-Captains are going to interview her throughout the day, from there we'll decide what we are going to do with her. I doubt that anyone is going to think of her as dangerous," he said, waving off Ichigo's concern. He hissed suddenly and bent in half at the waist, gripping his sides in pain.

"Hey Renji, you ok?" Ichigo asked concerned.

"I'm fine. Remember when I said I was the messenger? The cut the message into my back, after they had beaten me to pulp."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.- End flashback

Ichigo's eyes darkened with a mix of sadness and rage. Those bastards had hurt his friends and he could do nothing about it! They had even gone as far as to take Zangetsu away from him. A low growl built in his throat, one he suppressed with effort. Two months later and he _still_ couldn't think about it rationally.

"Ichigo? Are you alright?" Tatsuki asked, approaching her long-time friend. Ichigo blinked, snapping out of his mood. Turning, he gave a fake grin to her, "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, lying through his teeth. Mizuro frowned, "You're lying. Honestly Ichigo, if you're going to lie to us, at least do it properly."

"Ichigo blinked and looked at Mizuro. Mizuro was looking at him with a surprisingly piercing stare, as if he was looking at a puzzle he simply could not figure out. Mizuro blinked and the look disappeared. Instead, it was replaced with Mizuro's patented Smile™. Ichigo stared for a moment and inwardly shrugged, deciding that he had imagined it.

"Ichigo, seriously…what's wrong?" Keigo asked, unusually serious, "It has to do with why Rukia, Orihime, Chan and Uryuu aren't here, right?"

Ichigo flinched.

"This has to do with that strange gate you went through, right?" Mizuro asked, the piercing look returning. Ichigo stared open-mouthed at Mizuro, "How did you-"

"We saw you, Chad and Uryuu go through it, only you returned. Something happened on the other side, right?" Mizuro said, and though it was phrased as a question, the way he said it made it seem like a statement of fact.

"I…I'll tell you after school," Ichigo said as Miss Ochi entered the classroom. The three of them nodded reluctantly and returned to their seats.

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Hanataro grumbled irritably. Why was he grumbling? Rangiku decided to invite Tsunade and Masaki to Soul Society as her guests, and worse the two of them agreed. Thankfully, he had persuaded them to call him Hanataro Yamato….

They were almost back to Soul Society, having set out a few days ago. While Hanataro was stewing in his thoughts, Tsunade and Rangiku were talking about her super-strength technique and if Rangiku could use it. Masaki on the other hand was thinking of something totally different-Hanataro.

Or more accurately, his nightmare.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.- Flashback

Masaki was lying awake one night, unable to fall asleep. She sighed, getting up to stoke the fire when she heard it. From Yui's direction she could hear muffled sobs. Walking quietly over to his side, she could see tears streaming down his face.

"No…Kaa-chan…Tou-chan…don't go…don't….I'll get stronger…don't leave me again…" he whispered brokenly, between his sobs. Not thinking twice about it, she shook him, trying to wake him up. Panicked blue-gray eyes shot open, even as his hand shot out and clamped around her neck. Realizing who he had grabbed, he let go instantly and scurried backward, tears leaving wet tracks down his face.

"Masaki-san…I…I…" he said, trying to apologize but unable to form the words. Masaki moved forward, eyes shining in concern. Hanataro moved farther back, eyes wide and shining with fear… whether in fear about what he did or about his nightmare she didn't know. Hanataro had now moved so far back he was pressed against the wall, frozen stiff as Masaki kneeled in front of him and drew him into a warm embrace as though he was one of her own children. His body went stiff on contact, making her wonder just how many hugs he had ever received. Ignoring that, she rubbed his back and whispered soothing words to him, as if he was just another one of her children.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" he whispered again and again.

"Hey, what's up?" Rangiku asked blearily, rubbing her eyes. "Yui had a nightmare, and from the looks of it, a bad one," Masaki said, stroking his hair with one hand and wrapping her other arm around his thin shoulders. Rangiku looked closely at the boy who had somehow become like a younger brother to her as though seeing him for the first time.

"He…looks so fragile…" Rangiku murmered, more to herself then to Masaki, though the other woman heard her anyway, "When he's awake, he has this quiet strength around him, I didn't even notice it until we were away from Soul Society because it was so well hidden…but now he looks like just a lost child. If I hadn't seen the scars, I know I wouldn't have believed him when he said he was a Shinobi." Masaki could do nothing but nod in agreement.

"He had a nightmare again, didn't he?" Tsunade said from behind them. Startled, they turned around. Tsunade stood behind the three, looking down sadly, "I'm surprised he hasn't had one sooner, then again, he doesn't sleep long enough to have them."

"What?"

"He doesn't sleep for very long, usually just for an hour or two a night," Tsunade said, sitting down on the ground and looking at the dull, blue-gray eyes of her grandson, "If he sleeps any longer than that, he risks nightmares like this, and so he doesn't allow himself to sleep as much as he needs to," she said frowning, "My guess is that he was more tired than usual and didn't get up early enough."

"Tsunade, why …no, what are his nightmares about? Just now, he was crying…something about his mother and father…about not wanting them to leave him…" Masaki asked.

"Kaa-chan and Tou-chan were leaving me again," Yui muttered, still not fully awake. His eyes were half open and blurry and it was clear that he was falling asleep again. "What do you mean?" Rangiku asked, confused. "Kaa-chan and Tou-chan left me alone again. They didn't have a son," tears wound their way down his face again. Masaki hugged him fiercely, "Listen to me," she said, "Those people cannot be called your parents. They have no right to have you call them your parents, so I don't want you to feel that you have to call them your mother and father, understand?" she said, silently begging him.

"They're the only ones that I have,"

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"Oi! Open the gates!" Rangiku called, Hanataro and Masaki snapped out of their thoughts. The gate-guardian lifted the heavy gate and the group of four passed through. "So, where to first?" Tsunade asked.

'Well, I need to go pick up Nell-chan from the 11th division and report back to Captain Unohana," Hanataro said thoughtfully. "Well, I don't really have to report back to Captain Hitsugaya right now…so I could come with you!" Rangiku said, seeing an opportunity to avoid paperwork. Masaki and Tsunade shrugged, neither having anything better to do.

"Hey, Hana-chan, why is Nell staying at the 11th?" Rangiku asked curiously.

"Because she is friends with Vice-captain Kusajishi and I couldn't think of a better place for her to stay," Hanataro said simply.

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Nell and Yachiru were coloring in the office with Yumichika doing her paperwork when someone knocked on the door. "Come in," he called without looking up. The door opened and Nell squealed happily, launching herself at the person who just stepped through the door. "Hana-chan!" she said happily as she bounced happily on Hanataro's stomach. "Ooph! Nell-chan, you're making it hard for me to breath!" he said, catching her in mid-jump and sitting up. As soon as he let go of her, she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest.

"Hey, Nell-chan, why are you crying?" he asked, unclamping her from around his neck. "You were gone for so long, I thought you weren't going to come back," Nell said, a few more tears trailing down her face. A strange look entered Hanataro's eyes, "Nell-chan, listen to me, no matter what, I'll always come back, ok?" he said, wiping away the tears. He stood up, lifting Nell easily. As he did so, Yachiru attached herself to his back. "Hana-chan! You're back!" she said happily. "Hello Vice-captain Kusajishi," Hanataro said, not even stumbling at the sudden increase of weight.

Outside, Hanataro felt Tsundade's reiatsu flare high, and shouts of pain come from the courtyard outside the office. "You're kidding…we only just got here and already she's fighting…" Hanataro muttered irritably. "So you know who that is?" Yumichika said, frowning. Hanataro sighed, "Yes, that reiatsu belongs to my Grandma."

Yumichika looked at Hanataro in something akin to shock.

"_Your__ Grandma?_"

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At the tenth division, Yuri looked up from the paperwork he was turning in, his eyes focusing on the wall that faced the 11th division.

"Is something the matter Hayaki?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, noticing his subordinate's look.

"I'm not sure, but I could swear that I felt…but that's impossible-there's no way that she could be here," Yuri muttered, more to himself than to his captain. Captain Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at the response, "And who couldn't be here?"

"Sir, I'm not sure, but I think I just felt my Grandmother's reiatsu flare from somewhere in the direction of the 11th divison…" Yuri said, "Actually, I'm sure of it…but that should be impossible because I haven't seen her since I died."

"You said that you were sure? Is there anyone else with her?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, curious despite himself. Yuri closed his eyes and concentrated, "Actually, yes. I think one of the signatures is Vice-captain Matsumoto, one is Hanataro, and the rest I don't know."

Captain Hitsugaya sighed, "Let's go check it out. Matsumoto is probably trying to avoid paperwork again," he said irritably.

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Kai was training with Sentaro and Kiyone at the usual spot when he felt it. The sand fell away and the two tranees dropped to the ground, panting.

"Damn it, Kai…are you trying to kill us?" Kiyone asked angrily. Kai had decided that the two of them were lacking in physical strength and had focused on correcting that instead of teaching them any jutsu. Kai ignored her complaint and instead focused on the reiatsu that he had felt. He closed his eyes and focused on the link that he had felt grow stronger and stronger during the past few days.

Opening his eyes, he grinned. "Hey Brats! He's back," he said, turning in the direction of the 11th division. Sentaro and Kiyone looked at each other briefly before running after their temporary sensei.

"Wait up you bastard!"

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Akira looked off into the distance, ignoring his opponent for a moment.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" his opponent shouted at him, swinging his sword in an attempt to take his head off. Akira blocked it on instinct and knocked him out before walking away from the training grounds. He smiled, feeling through the connection that his other two brothers were coming as well.

_'Well, this should be interesting,'_ he thought as he turned down a path that would take him to the central offices.

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Tsunade growled as she hurled another black-robed-bastard into the nearest wall. Looking around, she saw that all of the bastards that had challenged her now lay in varying states of consciousness. Smirking triumphantly, she returned to the porch where Rangiku and Masaki were waiting. Sitting down, she took a long drink out of the sake bottle that she had grabbed from one of her victems and looked at the newest additions. Yumichika was looking at her with something between shock and awe, Hanataro was looking at her reproachfully and the two children clinging to him were looking at her in pure awe.

"So, who are the brats?" she asked, causing the pink-haired one to glare at her. "Hey! I'm not a brat!" Yachiru protested. Yumichika cleared his throat, "I do hope you aren't referring to me, my name is Yumichika Ayasegawa, 5th seat of the 11th division."

Tsunade took a long look at the Shinigami and said the only thing that came to mind, "Are you gay or something?"

A harsh, almost barking laugh came from the left and Yachiru squealed in joy and let go of Hanataro. Tsunade looked at the new arrival, he had 11 spikes in his hair, each one tipped with a bell, as well as an eyepach, his body was also covered in scars. "Well, she has you pegged, Yumichika. Who the Hell are you?" this last statement was directed to Tsunade.

"I'm Tsunade. And you are…?"

"Heh, I'm Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of the 11th division. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm following my grandson around for a while before Rangiku shows us a place to stay."

"Your grandson? Who the hell would that be?"

"Actually Captain Zaraki, that would be me," Hanataro said, interrupting before his grandmother started another fight. Captain Zaraki looked between the two of them, "You're related to this twerp?" he asked finally.

"Yup,"

"And you managed to beat up a good portion of my division singlehandedly,"

"Yup,"

"Wanna spar?"

"Nope,"

"What?" Captain Zaraki asked, even though he heard her perfectly well. Tsunade took a long drink from the bottle of sake and passed to Rangiku, who happily took it, "Because, I have some family members to greet," She said simply, no longer looking at him.

"Huh?" he asked, confused. Just then , four other signatures made their presence known.

One was a green haired, amber-eyed young man that looked to be about twenty.

One was a young man with pale, ice-blue hair and only slightly darker eyes.

One was a young man with darkly tanned skin, blood red hair and deep, golden eyes.

The last was a boy with tan skin and white hair with amazingly deep sea green eyes.

The first three all gave varying smiles, all happy to see their grandmother again. Captain Hitsugaya however, focused on his errant Vice-captain and Shunpo-ed in front of her. "And when were you planning to check in?" he asked, voice dangerously low.

"After I finished my sake, and showed Masaki and Tsunade where my house was, and the spare room," Rangiku said, slinging an arm around Masaki. "And this is 'Masaki'?" he asked, looking at the woman. There was something about her that seemed…

"My name is Masaki Kurosaki, you must be Captain Hitsugaya?" the lady-Masaki- said politely. His eyes widened slightly, "Are you related to Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked.

Masaki smiled, "Yes, he's my son."

"Eh? Ichi-Ichi is your son?" Yachiru asked, hopping down off of her perch. Masaki smiled at the child, "Yes, he is. And from what everyone has told me, he seems to have become quite strong," she remarked, smiling.

"Yeah, he and Ken-chan had lotsa fun. Ichi-Ichi is the only one to beat Ken-chan in a long time!" Yachiru said happily.

And in the middle of the courtyard Tsunade, Akira, Yuri, Kai, Hanataro and Nell were all greeting each other, and in Nell's case, meeting the last of Hanataro's brothers.

"Hello little one, you must be Nell," Yuri said, kneeling down to look her in the eyes. Nell nodded shyly, clinging to Hanataro's legs again.

"Hey, is it just me or is she always this shy when meeting new people?" Kai asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.

"Eh, leave the kid alone, Brat," Tsunade said, pulling him into a headlock and giving him a noogie.

"AHH! Grandma! Cut it out!" Kai yelled, trying to escape in vain.

"Hell naw. I haven't seen you in a hundred years, so I'm gonna start making up for lost time!" she said. Akira and Yuri sighed, both used to this sight. Hanataro laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Things hadn't changed a bit….

"Hana-chan, are they always like this:?" Nell asked curiously. Hanataro smiled, "Yup, all the time."

He was interrupted by a something slamming into him from behind. That something was Kiyone. Sentaro watched in amusement as Kiyone slammed into Hanataro, causing him to face-plant into the ground, Kiyone sitting on top of him. "Ugh, what is it with people knocking me over today?" he asked as he twisted around to see who was sitting on him now. "Kiyone? Could you get off of me? You're kinda heavy…"

She blushed and got off of her Sensei. Immediately after he sat up, she started yelling at him, "Hana-no-BAKA! Because you went off on that mission, Kai-teme took over our training and nearly killed us!" she started ranting. Hanataro ignored her and turned to Kai who shrugged and simply said " Duck-and-Dodge drills."

Hanataro nodded, a look of understanding coming to him, "You know Kiyone, I would have eventually done the same thing, Kai just did it first."

"WHAT!"

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OK, so that is the end of the chapter! About time…

Anyway, I made some changes to the previous chapters, nothing major, just makes it easier to read, and some minor details. Anyway, things are starting to build, and tension is increasing.

I'll see if I can't have the next chapter up sooner, the reason that this one was kinda late was because I was writing out an overview of the next few chapters up to 25, so I know where I'm going. There is also the fact that I spent four days remodeling my room and didn't have any time left to write…

Later!


	18. Setteling in or Cooking misadventures

I now have a beta! Shijou-san has agreed to beta my work so you can expect better chapter quality.

Chapter 18: Settling In or the Great Cooking (Mis)Adventure

Hanataro watched as Nell and Yachiru played in the courtyard, Sentaro and Kiyone were talking to him. "So…you're a Cetra?" Kiyone asked, crossing her arms.

"Yup."

"And the recon mission was mostly to teach Vice-Captain Matsumoto how to control her powers?" Sentaro asked, sitting beside Kiyone. "Yeah…that's basically it…" Hanataro agreed, "But I didn't expect to find Grandma there…or Masaki for that matter…"

Captain Zaraki snorted into his sake. He was still ticked that some random broad had blown him off like that. Akira chuckled, "That's Grandma for you," he said, taking a drink from his flask.

"Ah, that's right! Hana-sensei, you never introduced us to your friends…" she trailed off meaningfully.

"Sorry, these are my brothers, Akira Tenaka and Yuri Hayaki," Akira gave a joking salute and Yuri twitched his head in what could be described as a nod, "And you already know Kai, his full name is Kan no Sabaku. They're my brothers." Hanataro said, pointing to each one in turn.

"Ah, your brothers?"

"It's a long story…"

"Hana-chan! Come play!" Nell said, running to him and pulling on his arm. "Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" Hanataro said laughingly, allowing himself to be pulled into their game of tag. The figures on the porch watched him and the two girls play. Watching them, Kiyone noticed something.

Shaking her head, she kept watching, becoming more certain the longer she watched. "What's wrong Kiyone?" Sentaro asked worriedly, noticing the look on her face.

"Does anything seem odd about Hana-sensei's movements? He waits until the last second before moving out of the way. And it almost seems like he's letting himself get tagged every once and awhile…But there's no way he could be _that_ good…"Kiyone trailed off laughingly, "Never mind me, I'm just a little out of it right now."

The three brothers shared a look, Tsunade snorted quietly.

"Matsumoto, we're going. Hayaki-you can give me the rest of your report in the morning, " Captain Hitsugaya said, walking off. Rangiku sighed and set down her bottle of sake. Masaki and Tsunade picked up their packs and followed their newest landlady.

Yumichika, who had heard Kiyone's comment and saw his brother's reactions couldn't help but think that she was on to something.

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A while later, the game of tag had ended, Kai, Akira, Sentaro, Kiyone and Yumichika also having been dragged into playing and all of them were draped around the office trying to regain their energy.

"Heh…that….was kinda…fun…" Kai panted. Kiyone glared at him with all the energy that she could muster, "You are crazy."

Kai chuckled at her statement and didn't bother to deny the statement. Yachiru and Nell were coloring happily on the floor, Hanataro sitting with them sketching idly on a spare sheet of paper.

"Hey Hana-chan, what ya drawing?" Yachiru asked, peering over his shoulder.

"This? It's was my home before I died." He said, showing her the paper. On the paper was an admittedly rough sketch of a sprawling city, a tall tower rising from the center and a mountain rising behind it.

"You lived here?" Yachiru asked, Nell now looking at the picture too. "Yeah, a while back. It was called Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves," He said softly. "Do you miss it? Your village, I mean," Kiyone asked suddenly. "Yeah, sometimes," he allowed.

"Do ya ever want ta go back there?" Yachiru asked curiously. Hanataro shook his head, "Well, Vice-Captain Kusajishi, there really isn't a lot left to go back _to_."

Yachiru frowned, "Hana-chan, why do you keep calling me 'Vice-Captain Kusajishi'?" she asked, standing in front of him.

"What do you mean?" Hanataro asked curiously, not seeing where she was going with this at all. "We're friends, right?" she asked, crossing her arms irritably.

"Well…uh…Yeah…I guess…" he said, floundering. The others around the room watched the interaction, including a bemused Captain Zaraki.

"And friends call each other by their first names, right?"

"Uh, well yeah… but-" Hanataro said, seeing where this was going.

"Then you gotta call me 'Yachiru-chan' from now on."

"But Vice-Captain Ku-"

"Ya-chi-ru-ch-an" she said again slowly while glaring. Hanataro opened his mouth, then closed it again. He repeated the action. Yumichika chuckled, "You may as well accept it. Once Vice-Captain Kusajishi has decided something, that's it," he advised from his position on the couch. Hanataro sighed, "Alright, alright, you win…I'll…call you 'Yachiru-chan'."

"Yay!" she cried, cheering.

Captain Zaraki watched as he ward, Yamada and the Brat played around on the floor. There was something…off…about the Yamada kid. He had seen it twice, he was sure of it. The eyes of a killer. Eyes like that were something he was acutely familiar with, and they were impossible to erase completely.

He was going to have a talk with him. Very soon.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Earlier, after Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Masaki and Tsunade had left

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Hitsugaya looked between his Vice-Captain and her two guests. He sighed, "Fine, they can stay-"Rangiku hugged him tightly, cutting off both his sentence and his air supply. He struggled for a moment before Masaki intervened, saying "Rangiku, I think you're suffocating him…"

Rangiku blinked and let go, her captain backing away hastily and gasping quietly.

"Matsumoto…" He growled angrily, the temperature dropping. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Quit messing with the temperature brat," she said, sipping from her sake bottle. Captain Hitsugaya glanced at her, she raised an eyebrow as if to say _'Why aren't you doing as I said?__'_. The temperature rose a bit. Captain Hitsugaya glared at her. She smirked back at him. Rangiku giggled, "Wow Captain, you and Tsunade are getting along already!"

The freezing temperature returned.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Welcome to my humble abode," Rangiku said grandly as she threw open the door to her two story apartment. Tsunade and Masaki followed her inside, dropping their rather heavy packs by the door. Rangiku was bouncing about the room, picking up empty bottles and clothing.

"Sorry it's such a mess, I didn't know that I would be bringing people back with me," she called as she disappeared around a corner with an armful of clothing.

"If you want to get settled in, your rooms are on the upper floor, next to mine," Rangiku called from the depths of the house. Shrugging, Tsunade and Masaki picked up their packs again and went up the stairs and down the hall at the top, stopping at three doors. One was defiantly Rangiku's, if the clothing all over the room was any indication. The other two rooms were clean though, and didn't look like they had been used in a long time. Tsunade took the room beside Rangiku and Masaki chose the one across the hall.

She closed the door behind her and set her heavy pack beside the door. Going over to the closet, she pulled out the futon and laid it out on the floor. Next she pulled out her clothing, shook it out and re-folded it and put it in the dresser. Her pack she put in the bottom of the closet. As she finished, she heard a clanging sound coming from what she assumed was the kitchen.

Coming down the stairs, she heard more clanging sounds, and smelled smoke. Entering quickly, she saw Rangiku trying to put out a fire in a pan she had on the stove. Taking charge, Masaki strode forward, opened the windows to let the smoke out and put out the fire.

"Eh he he…opps?" Rangiku offered nervously as she surveyed what was left of the food. The bottom and lower sides of the pan were covered in black, charcoal remnants of what was supposed to be food. "Well, there goes lunch," Rangiku said. Masaki sighed and looked at the pan, saying " Actually, I wouldn't mind cooking," she smiled, "Besides, I was getting hungry myself."

"Really? If you're sure…" Rangiku said slowly. Seconds later she found herself kicked out of her own kitchen and the sounds of banging pots and pans coming from behind her. Rangiku blinked for a moment, wondering what happened before shrugging and returning to picking up her house.

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It was several days later when Yachiru stopped off at 4th division to pick up Nell. "Yachiru-chan, you're early," Hanataro said, setting aside his mostly uneaten breakfast. "Yeah, I know, but I _need_ Nell-chan _now._" Yachiru said, bouncing up and down where she stood. Hanataro blinked, confused, and looked over at his ward, who also looked confused. "Um…ok, but-"

"Great! You can come over to the 11th division around lunch time, ok? Bye Hana-chan!" She said, shunpo-ing off with Nell in tow.

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A few hours later, Hanataro found himself walking towards the 11th division, scanning for both Nell and Yachiru. While working his way through the streets, he came across Captain Zaraki. "Captain Zaraki, what are you doing out here?" Hanataro asked curiously. Captain Zaraki looked down at the small Shinigami, "Che, Yachiru told me to meet her at one of the mess halls. Thing is, she didn't tell me what one I was suppose ta go to," he grumbled.

Hanataro closed his eyes and focused on their energy, "Actually, Yachiru-chan told me to meet her as well, if you like I could lead you there, we're both going to the same place after all," he offered carefully. "Che'. Get going then," he said, "I have something I want to talk to you about anyway."

Hanataro looked up at the giant of a human, "Talk to me? Why?"

"'Cause there's something _off_ about you, and I think I got it," he said grinning down at Hanataro. This grin did nothing to reassure him. "And what would that be?" he asked, keeping his voice steady.

"You're a killer."

Hanataro froze dead in the middle of the street, almost causing Captain Zaraki to step on him. "Don't stop in the middle of the street like that ya moron!" Captain Zaraki barked at him, irritated.

"H-how did you-" he asked, unable to keep a slight tremor out of his voice.

"Your eye," he said, grinning like a wolf, "When that brat told you Kurotsuchi threatened her, and again when you broke through that strange barrier. That's a look I haven't seen on anyone here, haven't seen it since I was out in district 80. You could kill someone and sleep through the night, couldn't you?"

Hanataro sighed, willing his body to relax, "I could…" he admitted slowly, "Or, I used to be able to. I'm not sure if I still could…and I'd really rather not find out. It's not…something I want to return to."

Captain Zaraki 'Che'd again, " Heh, ya don't look like a fighter, but ya can't fake those kinds of eyes either. You're like some kind of damn puzzle," he muttered more to himself than to his guide.

"Captain Zaraki? I'd… rather you not say anything to anyone else," Hanataro said carefully.

"S'not like anyone'd believe me, a scrawny runt like you a fighter? Not a chance in hell." Captain Zaraki snorted.

Hanataro grinned in relief and continued on to where Nell and Yachiru were located.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Just as they rounded the last corner, they saw Captains Ukitake and Hitsugaya as well as Sentaro.

"Huh? Hana-sensei, what are you doing here?" Sentaro asked as the two joined the rest of the group. "Actually, Yachiru-chan insisted that I come here around lunch time."

"Kiyone told us the same thing," Sentaro said.

"Matsumoto left me a note," Captain Hitsugaya said irritably.

The door opened and Rangiku's head poked out, "Ah, good, all of you are here," she said before slamming the door shut again.

"That was…odd…" Captain Ukitake said, summing up everyone's thoughts.

Five minutes later, the door was opened again, this time by Nell and Yachiru.

"Come in," Yachiru said as she ran behind Captain Hitsugaya and started to push him through the door. Nell followed her lead, only her target was Hanataro.

The center table in the mess hall was set for eleven people. The two children herded the bemused males to their places. Following directions, the boys found themselves seated along one side of the table. Hanataro found his place between Captain Ukitake and Captain Hitsugaya.

The group waited patiently until…

"Yah! The soup!"

_CRASH!_

_CLANG!_

"Rangiku, look out!"

_Wha__-Thump!_

"Kiyone!"

"Aww…that took me all day to make!"

"Eeeeep!"

"Whee!"

"Yachiru-chan, Nell-chan, don't-….nevermind…"

And that was enough for Hanataro. He was up and moving towards the door before his brain could catch up with him. The others were soon to follow.

He opened the door and froze. Before him was an example of pure Chaos. The air was dusty and filled with flour. More flour liberally covered the countertops and everything else. In the sink, along with the dishes, was a loaf of bread sopping up the dishwater. In front of the stove was a large pot, the contents mixing with the masses of flour and what appeared to be what was a full container of iced tea.

And what about our cooks?

Nell and Yachiru were playing in the flour-y, soup-y mess, covered in the muck. Rangiku was flat out on her back, flour all down her front. Kiyone was draped over her gut, swirly marks for eyes. Masaki was by the sink, covered in flour and dishwater. Tsunade was doused and flour and tea, and was the only one still standing.

The five guys at the door could do nothing but stare. Hanataro looked at the mess, feeling something strange build up inside of him. He felt himself smile widely, the odd, semi-familiar feeling growing.

"Ugh, what happened…?" Kiyone asked, still partly dazed.

The feeling burst from him, "Hahahahahaha!" Hanataro laughed. It wasn't a light chuckle, or a quiet, polite laugh, it was a full-body, sides heaving laugh. Kiyone sat up carefully, followed by Rangiku. Nell and Yachiru stopped playing in the gloop and stared at Hanataro. Masaki stood carefully, Tsunade turned and both looked at Hanataro. For most present, it was the first time they had ever heard him really laugh. For Tsunade, it was the first time since the 'Incident' so long ago. Beside him, Captain Ukitake started chuckling, then laughing. Sentaro and Captain Hitsugaya started laughing as well, even Captain Zaraki chuckled a bit. The girls looked at each other and laughed as well.

It took a little while for everyone to calm down, but once they could talk again, Hanataro said, "I…don't really remember the last time that I laughed like that…" he sat down at the long table, his sides aching from laughing so hard. Nell sat beside him, being 'attacked' by Masaki who was armed with a wet washcloth.

"Not for a while," Tsunade agreed.

"So what were you up to that caused the mess?" Captain Ukitake asked curiously.

"Well…"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Meanwhile, deep within 12th division territory, Kurotsuchi was up to his usual antics.

"That damn Yamada Brat! I'll bet _anything_ that he's the one foiling my attempts at capuring that Arrancar brat!" he ranted angrily. Nemu stood still, unflinchingly as a cup sailed bas her face and shattered against the wall beside her. Kurotsuchi had been ranting like this for the last two hours.

Kurotsuchi froze mid-syllable.

"That's it…That's it! _Yamada_ is the one stopping the attempts, though _how_ I don't know, so I'll just get rid of him first…" he said, pleased with his own idea.

Nemu stared unblinkingly at the wall, though if one looked carefully, they could see a flicker of concern in her eyes.

Laying innocently on a desk was a folder containing information on Kurotsuchi's latest drug, a type of growth enhancement, forgotten in favor of creating a plan to capture one Hanataro Yamada.


	19. Capture

Chapter 19: Capture…

Hanataro frowned. He and Nell were on their way to the 11th division so that Nell could play with Yachiru. Today was also his day off so he was planning to spend the day nearby, just in case. The only glitch in his plan was the group of Shinigami trying to follow them. 'Trying' because they weren't doing a very good job of it.

* * *

They had reached the 11th division safely, and Hanataro was tense. If they were going to do anything, then it would be now while they were still in border territory. Minutes passed and the two of them passed through the border territory into the 11th and then into the inner part of the division. He almost sighed in relief when they came up to the doors of the main office. Leaving Nell with Yachiru, he slipped out the door to take care of their followers, preferably before the girls decided to go out and play.

He closed the door behind him and walked straight out through the courtyard, planning to backtrack once he was out of sight of the pursuers. He did not plan on having the entire group surround him. The twenty-odd Shinigami formed a tight circle around him, leaving him no easy escape route. He cursed, fluently, with words that should not be put on paper. Had Masaki been there, she would have washed out his mouth with a bar of soap.

It was a trap. They hadn't been after Nell, they were after him. He growled and shifted his stance, a single kunai appearing in his hand.

"Hanataro Yamada, Captain Kurotsuchi would like a word with you," one of them said, he appeared to be the leader.

"He wants to talk to me, huh? I don't think so. What does he really want with me? Is this some kind of revenge for busting your previous attempts at kidnapping Nell? I know I recognize some of you, and by the looks of it, some of you recognize me as well," he said, stalling for time and praying that someone would come along and help him out of this mess, preferably Akira. Some of them shifted nervously, recognizing the guy that had knocked them out so easily before.

"We have been instructed to use force if necessary, do not resist," the leader said, seemingly ignoring Hanataro's words.

Hanataro smirked, feeling the adrenaline start to pump through his veins, working its way into his system, "Then I guess you'll just have to use force, 'cause I'm not going."

And with that he charged, swiping his kunai at his first victim. Hanataro danced among them, swiping out with the kunai every time he could, though that wasn't as often as he would have liked, there were too many of them coming too fast and too often for him to really let them have it. He knew he was out of practice, but he wasn't trying to win the fight, just stall long enough so that someone could give him a hand.

If they were really after him, then Nell was safest inside the office, and he hoped to God that she didn't come out. All he needed to do was to either lead them off or stall long enough that backup could arrive. Or he could run…but that was something of a problem, seeing as they were careful to not give him enough room _to_ run.

He gritted his teeth as somebody's sword tore through his back, leaving behind an ugly gash, thankfully not too deep. Spinning, he lashed out, catching the guy in the bicep. Using Jutsu was currently out of the question, the three seconds it would take him to get through the seals of anything remotely useful would be far too long. He twisted and turned, spun and danced in and out of reach, lashing out at every opportunity, but he knew that it was a losing battle. If help didn't come soon, he was screwed.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Inside, Yumichika frowned, "What's going on out there? It sounds like some kind of brawl."

Yachiru and Nell paused their coloring and listened as well. Wordlessly, the three went ahead to investigate what was going on out there. Yumichika opened the door and the three stared in shock.

In the center of the courtyard was what appeared to be twenty 12th division members attacking a single figure that they couldn't clearly see. In stunned silence, they watched as the figure danced and spun, lashing out with what seemed to be an oddly shaped dagger. Suddenly the figure turned, showing his face to the spectators.

It was Hanataro.

"HANA-CHAN!" Nell yelled, fear lacing her voice. That was enough to cause a split-second distraction, and that was enough time for the leader to slam the hilt of his Zanpakutō down on the base of his neck.

Nell watched in horror as Hanataro's eyes widened and closed as his body slumped forward, only to be caught by his captors before it could hit the ground. Nell made to run forward, but was restrained by Yumichika. "Let me go! HANA!" she screamed franticly. Yachiru rushed ahead before Yumichika could grab her. She drew her sword and dove among the 12th division members, her reiatsu flaring.

"Let Hana-chan go!" she yelled, flaying about with her sword. The 12th division members scattered and in the confusion the person carrying Hanataro was lost.

"What the Hell is going on out here?" Captain Zaraki roared, slamming the door open. He was greeted with the sight of a hysteric Arrancar child, a furious Yachiru and an angry and annoyed Yumichika. Yachiru spun around, her too-long sword bloody, angry tears in her eyes, "They took him Ken-chan, they took Hana-chan," she said, the tears finally falling. Kenpachi Zaraki was floored. He couldn't remember the last time that Yachiru had cried, really and truly cried. The girl dropped her sword and ran to him, clinging helplessly to him.

"I couldn't get to him, and I couldn't get to him before they ran away," she cried. Yumichika was trying to comfort a sobbing Nell, who was hysterical and was alternating between sobbing on Yumichika and trying to break free to chase after Hanataro.

"Captain...Hanataro was fighting pretty well. He had several injuries, but most of his attackers were injured at least once. They had ganged up on him, there were about twenty," Yumichika said, hugging Nell awkwardly, "We should contact Captain Unohana, as well as Hanataro's brothers."

Captain Zaraki said nothing for a moment, he looked at Yumichika, or more accurately at the small girl who was clinging to him. "Do it," he ordered, "And those two brats he's training as well."

Yumichika blinked and nodded, running off to the 4th division leaving Nell with Yachiru and Captain Zaraki.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Within an hour, the entire group had gathered, with several additions.

Once Yuri had heard, he told his Captain as well as Rangiku who was in the room at the time. Upon hearing, she demanded to come as well. Rangiku told Tsunade and Masaki as they passed her house on the way out.

Sentaro and Kiyone were next; Captain Ukitake following. The two third seats of division thirteen were livid. Captain Ukitake was slightly nervous as to what they might do, seeing as the two of them had never been this angry about the same thing before…

Kai came in next, Captain Unohana and Akira trailing him. Akira had been getting a few minor wounds patched at the time, having just come back from a Hollow-hunt. Kai had barged in, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off. They were met by Captain Unohana at the front door, waiting for them while talking to Yumichika.

They were all tense and angry, especially those who knew Hanataro closely. Tsunade immediately took charge of the entire thing, "Ok, so all of you have been briefed on the situation?"

Sounds of agreement were heard throughout the office of the 11th division, which had been converted into a temporary war-room.

"Yumichika, you are the only one in any kind of condition to talk rationally, what happened? Give more than just the bare details this time," Tsunade demanded.

Yumichika once again related the incident of barely an hour ago. They all listened intently as the events were fully told. At the end of the story, there was silence…for all of three seconds.

"That moron! What the Hell made him think he could take on twenty people at once with a dagger?" Kiyone shouted, outraged.

"Kurotsuchi's crossed the line, this is beyond the pale," Yuri said icily. The others were quick to agree, soon the volume in the room rose until…

_"That Bastard…I'm going to disembowel him!"_ Kai hissed, sand rising around him, curling and snapping like the tail of an angry cat.

Yuri said nothing more, but the temperature in the room steadily dropped until frost was forming on the table.

Akira growled lowly, the woodwork in the room creaking and groaning as if struggling to come back to life.

The rest of the group stared at the three and the three were to angry and wrapped up in their thoughts of revenge to notice that they had become the center of attention.

"Gyah! What the Hell?" Sentaro demanded as the sand around Kai snapped alarmingly close to his face before swirling around Kai as if he was the center of a sand hurricane.

Tsunade frowned, "Boys-quit screwing around. Chill out or get out, your choice."

Kai grumbled irritably, but the indoor-sandstorm stopped. Yuri frowned, but the temperature rose and the ice disappeared from around the windows and door. Akira crossed his arms and the woodwork stopped warping and shifting.

"Instead of shouting, we should decide on what to do," Captain Unohana said, recovering quickly, " I will talk with General Yamamoto, that will be our first step. From there we can figure out what to do. With luck, this incident will be resolved shortly. I would like for the three of you," here she gestured at the three brothers, " As well as Asagawa-san, Nell-chan and Vice-Captain Kusajishi. The last three will be able to provide eye-witness support and the three of you will be there to hear the decision first hand."

Slowly, everyone nodded. Though none of them liked the plan and would like nothing more than to demolish the 12th division, they knew that logically this was the better choice.

The group split up, each going back to what they were doing before hand, except for the seven who were go see the General.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Hanataro awoke, his mind going on auto-pilot. Using an old trick, he was able to fool the monitors and machines that were hooked up to him, keeping them from alerting anyone that he was awake. Carefully, he opened his eyes. He was in a dim room, but along the wall he could see various instruments of sharp and pointy design. On the other wall, he could see various cabinets full of bottles and other things. Directly ahead of him he could see the glow of computer monitors. It was at about this time he realized he was wearing naught but a towel around his neither-regions.

Deciding to feel embarrassed at a later date, he carefully pulled at the straps binding him to the cold mettle table. It was no use, they were tied too well for him to get out of. Voices snapped him out of his thoughts and he quickly closed his eyes and relaxed.

"Has he woken up het?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked.

"No, not yet. There have been no changes in his heartbeat, vitals or brain activity," said a second, unrecognizable voice.

"Humph, I don't have time for this," Captain Kurotsuchi said, padding closer to where Hanataro lay. Seconds later a fist drove deep into Hanataro's gut, bringing him to full consciousness.

"Glad to see you're awake," Kurotsuchi said cheerfully, "You get to be the lucky one to test one of my latest drugs."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Unohana, Nell, Yachiru, Yumichika, Kai, Akira and Yuri waited patiently outside the office of the General. Captain Unohana had sent word ahead, but they hadn't been allowed in because of a noble who decided that he simply _must_ speak with the General.

"Uno-chan, how much longer is the old man gonna take?" Yachiru asked. Captain Unohana sighed worriedly, "I don't know," she admitted. Nell stared blankly ahead, seated between Kai and Yumichika. She hadn't said anything since they had met at the 11th division offices.

They had been sitting there in near silence for almost three hours and the three brothers were starting to get slightly more than irritated. Finally the door opened and the noble walked out, pausing long enough to give a withering glance at the boys and Yumichika.

The pompous noble was followed by the Vice Captain of the 1st division who said simply, "The General will see you now," before glaring at Nell who was still staring blankly at the floor. This action however, did not go unnoticed by the others however, and the three boys sent the man an icy glare, causing him to gulp and it took all of his will power not to step back.

The group filed into the room where they sat down in front of the general in a semi-circle.

"Captain Unohana, what brings you here?" General Yamamoto asked curiously, taking note of the expressions on both her and her companion's faces.

"I have reason to believe that one of my subordinates was kidnapped by 12th division," Captain Unohana said evenly.

"And these are your witnesses?"

"No, only Asagawa-san, Vice-Captain Kusajishi and Nell-chan saw the incident, the other three are related to Hanataro Yamada, who was the one kidnapped," Captain Unohana said, her voice carefully controlled to give no hint to her true feelings on the incident.

General Yamamoto's opened as he heard the information before looking over the people gathered before him carefully. Yachiru was angry, there was no denying that, he could feel her anger from where he was sitting, but she was also sad and had so far not said a single thing, something unnatural for the child. The arrancar, Nell, was also silent, but for a different reason. Her eyes were clouded over and almost vacant. Her sadness was as palatable as Yachiru's anger. Yumichika was also sitting quietly, but he didn't seem to be as angry as the others, in fact the was often casting worried glances at the two children as if wanting to help them but unsure as to how to do so.

It was then the General decided to turn his attention to Hanataro Yamada's 'brothers'. The red-headed one was silent, and the air around him was hazy, as if there was a lot of dust or sand around him. His golden eyes were burning with rage, his hands clenched tightly in his hakama. The green-haired one was tense as well, his face a mask of stone but no one could mistake the fact that he was angry. The last one was emitting an icy aura around him, his eyes as cold as the arctic and where the red-heads' eyes were burning with rage, his were just as icy and for the same reason. In fact, all three of them looked ready to kill.

"And you three are?" he prompted.

The blue-haired one spoke first, "I am Yuri Hayaki, 5th seat of division ten."

The green-haired one went next, his dark amber eyes narrowing, "I'm Akira Tenaka, 10th seat of division 11."

The red-head spoke last, "Kai no Sabaku, 4th division 11th seat," he spoke in short, clipped tones unlike his brothers who at least tried to be polite.

"And the three of you are Hanataro Yamada's brothers?"

Yuri was the one to respond, "We are."

"There has never been a case close to this, one where a Captain has ordered members of his division to kidnap another. Therefore, I am at a loss as to how to handle it," the General said, more to himself then to the others in the room, "If so many were involved, then it is almost a certainty that Captain Kurotsuchi is involved in this, or at least knows about it. Tell me, what would the three of you do?" the General asked, looking closely at the three boys.

The three shared a look, and Akira grinned. It was not a kind grin. "Well, I would sink the entire division," he said simply.

"Sink them? And how would you do that?"

"The sewer system is several levels deep under the 12th, it wouldn't take much more then explosives in the right places to bring the entire thing twenty feet below ground level. It wouldn't be easy, seeing as one would need a lot of explosives to do it, but it could be done relatively quickly."

"Hmm…I think I agree with Akira on this one," Yuri said thoughtfully.

Kai snorted, "Nah, lets 'em off way to lightly. I know for a fact that there are a lot of in-ter-est-ing chemicals sitting around in large warehouses. None of them are guarded and the vast majority of the chemicals are…explosive to say the least. All it would take is a single small explosion to set off the entire warehouse and _BANG _up it goes," Kai said, dark humor evident in his voice.

"Really?" Akira asked interestedly, Yuri looked interested at the information as well.

"Yup. I noticed it a while back when I was on cleaning duty there, none of them are guarded at all, and the tanks aren't all that thick…the entire set-up is begging to be lit up," Kai quipped.

"And what do you mean by that?" General Yamamoto asked, leaning forward. These boys…there was something about them that made one pay attention when they talked…not to mention that they seemed to speak from experience.

"With all due respect General," Kai said, "All of 12th is a ticking time bomb. The warehouses are poorly ventilated and the tanks haven't been repaired for years. I've not been able to do anything there because Captain Kurotsuchi is firmly convinced that I'm an idiot that knows nothing of the finer points of science," here he laughed humorlessly, "He's right, I don't. But what I do know is that that place is a hazard zone and it's a miracle that someone hasn't died there. General, I'm a Shinobi. It's my job to know about what will make a bigger 'bang' when set off, and that mess will make one of the biggest bangs I've ever seen. One spark, just one, in any one of the warehouses could potentially set off the entire thing. All of the warehouses are inter-connected by a series of pipes that funnel the chemicals from the warehouses to the labs and then to where ever else," Kai said grimly.

"You are a Shinobi? Why haven't I heard about this before?" General Yamamoto demanded.

"Because sir," Yuri said, cutting off Kai before he could say something else, "The general attitude among Shinigami is that Shinobi are murdering war-mongers who are perverting the demon arts. Not to mention the attitude among nobles is just as bad if not worse. We didn't tell you because we were unsure how you would act. History shows us that those who have been proven to be Shinobi have not been treated kindly by the Shinigami and have been all but chased out of Soul Society."

General Yamamoto leaned back in his seat, thinking. They were right, of course, when Shinobi had first appeared, it did indeed look as though they were war-mongers, always fighting and killing. There 'Chakra' was the only thing separating them from the average human, and even then it was just a diluted form of reiatsu. There had been instances where a Shinobi had been discovered in the ranks of Shinigami, and always the individual was ostracized from his or her peers, the times that one had appeared, the nobles raised holy hell about it, demanding that the offender be thrown out. He had no choice but to do so, both for the safety of the individual and so the nobles wouldn't withdraw support from Soul Society.

"How many Shinobi are there in Soul Society?" the General asked, "And would they be willing to fight again-as Shinobi instead of Shinigami?"

An unreadable look passed between the brothers, "There are many of us, almost two thousand that I know of," Kai said, "And…many of us would be far more comfortable fighting as Shinobi…but what does this have to do with rescuing Hanataro?"

"It has everything to do with your predicament," the General said, "You see, I have visited several of the Hidden Villages. Your Jutsu, do they work with Reiatsu the same way they work with Chakra?"

"Yes, but you need a lot more control, reiatsu is more violate then Chakra due to its condensed nature," Yuri said, "But what do you mean, you've been to the Hidden Villages?"

"I meant what I said; I have seen the Hidden Villages, and the people inside them. I was there for the founding of Konoha village; they were true warriors, ones that we would be hard pressed to find here…" he trailed off, "Never the less, I know how strong a Shinobi can be when backed into a corner, the Shinigami would be wise to learn from the Shinobi," he said, an odd look coming to his face, "And I…am a fool," he sighed heavily, "I have let myself be blinded by others, first by letting the nobles convince me to throw out the few Shinobi that have been found, then by Captain Kurotsuchi's acts, and the fact that he was the only one at the time able to fill the position, and finally by Aizen and the betrayal of the three former Captains…" Weariness settled on his frame like a heavy cloak. It was times like this that he really felt his age catch up with him…

"One chance," he said suddenly, "I will give you three one chance to rescue your brother. And in return, I want the three of you to rescue as many of his 'research specimens' as possible. I have allowed him free reign for far too long, therefore I will allow the three of you free reign as to what you do. You have one month, until then your normal duties will be suspended. You may ask for as much help as you want, however those who do help you will have their Shinigami duties to do first. Be discrete in what you do-I believe that this would be similar to an S-ranked mission?"

The boys grinned, it was a carnivorous, dangerous, malevolent grin.

"You would be correct General," Akira said, "One month to get back to ANBU level, should be interesting to say the least."

"You have no need to worry," Yuri said, his eyes glinting like a sharpened steel blade, "However, you may want to set aside a large amount of money to cover the cost of repairs to the 12th division because I can garentee you, there won't be a lot left standing when we're through."

Kai noted the look on his captains' face and said, "Don't worry, we aren't going to kill more than we have to, our problem is with Captain Kurotsuchi and the bastards that captured Hanataro. We aren't going to go on a killing spree, and even if we did, Grandma Tsunade would have our hides," he joked, some light coming back into his dark eyes, "Besides, we're ANBU Shinobi, we have far more self control than that, if we didn't we wouldn't be in ANBU to begin with."

"I see, so the three of you are ANBU level then?" the General asked curiously.

Kai nodded and pulled up his right sleeve, showing a tattoo on his arm, "Konoha ANBU, same as my brothers. Even Hanataro is ANBU."

"What is…ANBU?" Captain Unohana asked.

"ANBU is an acronym, it stands for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. It is a rank, second only to the Kage and the Sannin. From there, ANBU is divided into smaller divisions based on what you specialize in," Yuri said, pulling up his own sleeve and showing his tattoo to the General as well. Akira sighed and followed their lead, letting Yumichika and Yachiru look at it before he lowered his sleeve.

The General said nothing for a long moment, he sighed and then spoke, "I will send word to both Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Zaraki. You will each be given a written version of my orders sometime tomorrow. I want you to report to my office six hours before you attack, I will tell my Vice-Captain to let you pass. At that time, I want you to be ready to give a full report to all of the Captains. Until that time, you are not to tell them unless you have no choice. Captain Unohana, Captain Zaraki and Captain Hitsugaya are exceptions to this rule. You are dismissed."

The entire group stood an bowed, Nell stopping at the door to speak for the first time since the incident, "Thank you."

And with that she left, making General Yamamoto feel older than he had in years. Sighing resignedly, he pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and started writing out a note to Captain Hitsugaya. He could only hope that the three of them were able to accomplish their mission with minimal bloodshed.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Ehh...sorry it's so late! Good news is that the next chapter is already typed and should be up on time!


	20. Attack on 12

Yay! Passed the 100-review mark! So cool!

Dentists are evil people.

Chapter 20: Attack on 12

* * *

"So how'd it go?" Rangiku demanded of Yuri the moment he set foot inside the 10th division main office. Yuri smiled, "The General…has decided to allow us to handle things our self. We have permission to do whatever we deem necessary to retrieve Hanataro and the other research specimens."

Captain Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, "That seems to be a little much, especially for three people," he remarked.

"We are allowed to gather help, but they would still have their Shinigami duties," Yuri said.

"You already have a plan, don't you?"

"Yes, but I need to talk to my brothers first."

"You need help right?" Rangiku said, "Well, you have your first volunteer," she said, determination shining brightly in her pale blue eyes, along with a healthy dose of anger.

Yuri looked at her, "You realize it won't be easy, we'll be moving fast. This isn't going to be a Shinigami operation, it's going to be run by Shinobi standards," Yuri warned.

"I know. I'll be able to keep up," Rangiku said.

Yuri sighed, "Either way, it's up to Captain Hitsugaya."

Rangiku looked at her captain pleadingly. Captain Hitsugaya looked between her and Yuri and groaned, "No matter what I say, you'll do it anyway, wouldn't you?" he asked, not expecting an answer, "Do what you want, but your paperwork has to be done first," he said threateningly, "If it isn't done, you can forget about the entire thing."

Rangiku flinched at the thought of the paperwork but nodded anyway, "Understood."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai found himself besieged by Sentaro and Kiyone.

"No. You're not going," he said, crossing his arms.

"And why not?" Sentaro demanded, "We're third seats, plenty strong enough to come. And on top of that, Hana-sensei said that we are about Chunin level in our Shinobi skills."

"And that's just it! You're _Chunin_," he snapped, "Sentaro, Kiyone, do you really think that we won't have to kill on this mission? Kiyone- you freaked out after having killed twice! As much as I hate to admit it, there will be no way that we can accomplish this without killing somewhere along the line. That's just how it is," his glare softened, "You won't be able to freak out on this. People's _lives_ are depending on you. More than just Hanataro's. Rescuing him is our main objective, yes, but our secondary objective is to get out as many of his research specimens as possible."

"So are you saying I can't handle it?" Kiyone demanded angrily.

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying," he snapped, "You still seem to be under the impression that this is some kind of _game_. Brats, let me tell you-slip up once, just once, and you _will_ die."

Kiyone and Sentaro flinched. It was true, to them it had been just one more competition, trying to belittle the other. It was only recently they had started to truly work together.

"Even so, we want to help," Sentaro said, "Don't worry about us, we'll take care of ourselves."

Kai smirked, "Good, I'll hold you to that." He turned and started to walk off, "I'll let you know when we've come up with a place to meet."

Sentaro and Kiyone watched him walk off in stunned silence.

"Gah! That Bastard!" Kiyone snarled angrily. Sentaro nodded in agreement.

"Sentaro-I'm hungry. Dealing with _him_ always seems to make me hungry. Let's go get some lunch, there's this noodle stall you can treat me to," she said, dragging Sentaro off in the direction of the afore mentioned noodle stall.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Akira took a long drink from his hop flask.

"So that's where we are now," Akira said, "We need a place where people aren't going to barge in on us."

Captain Zaraki frowned, "I can't think of one," he admitted.

"Wait, there may be one," Ikkaku said, having been filled in on the situation by Yumichika, "Renji told me about it a while ago. Some kind of underground cavern he used for Bankai training."

Akira leaned forward, "Oh? Do tell…"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Almost overnight, posters appeared all over Soul Society. To most, they meant nothing, but those who could read them, they were interesting indeed. Not all of the posters had the same type of writing, but each one had the same message. Directions to the underground cavern, as well as a brief outline of what they were going to do, and a mission rank.

The next night, people started trickling in. There were seven. Tsunade told them what was going on, what they were doing and they split off to go practice. Some spared and some simply refined their jutsu after having been inactive for so long.

There was one, however, that was not a Shinobi. That one walked right up to Tsunade and said, "Tsunade, about your super-strength technique, can you teach it to me?" Rangiku looked at her hopefully, " I know we only have a month, but I'll defiantly be able to learn it."

Tsunade looked closely at Rangiku, and she could find nothing but determination in her blue eyes.

"It won't be easy," she warned, "we don't have a lot of time, so it'll be a crash course."

"I know."

Tsunade grinned, "Then the first thing we're going to do is change your look," she tossed her a roll of clean bandages, "Wrap it tightly."

"Wrap what?"

"Your chest. Think of it like a sports bra. It won't be comfortable, but you'll thank me later. You can do it behind those rocks over there."

Rangiku looked at the roll of bandages distastefully, but dutifully went behind the rocks to wrap her chest.

-.--.--.--.--.-

Day three

-.--.--.--.--.-

The next day, twenty showed up, a vast increase to the previous seven. This time it was Yuri who gave them the introduction speech. And again, nobody chose to leave. Sentaro and Kiyone watched as the newest Shinobi joined the group from yesterday.

"Day three and already we have over twenty five willing volunteers," Kai said, coming up behind the two, "Well, let's see if we can't turn the two of you into a tag-team fighting force," he grinned, "Who knows, you may even survive the month!"

Sentaro and Kiyone gulped but followed him.

-.-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Alright Rangiku, this technique requires reiatsu control that you don't have," Tsunade said, standing easily on the water's surface, "Therefore that's what you'll be working on first. To do this, channel a small amount of reiatsu to the soles of your feet. Keep the amount constant or you'll fall in. Too little, you'll fall in anyway, same with too much, you following?"

Rangiku nodded and stepped carefully out onto the surface of the water. She sunk about four inches but remained standing. Her brows knitted in concentration as she adjusted the flow of reiatsu to her feet, bringing her up onto the surface of the water. Carefully, she took a second step, then another and another, sinking ever so often but never more than to her knees.

Tsunade watched, interested. She didn't think that she would have such good control, but she supposed desperation and determination played a large part in it. Rangiku had successfuly walked across the pool and collapsed on the other side, "That was…hard…I didn't think it'd be that hard! Or take that much concentration!"

Tsunade smirked, "You did a lot better than I thought you would, but not good enough to move on. Keep doing this until it becomes second nature."

Rangiku groaned but got up to do as she was told.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day seven

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai groaned as he looked at the papers littering their 'office'. On a rock, pinned with some spare kunai, was a map of 12th division and underneath was tacked a map of the sewer system. On both maps were several large red circles. This was not currently what was giving him such a big headache.

"Yuri you bastard! Why the Hell do _I_ gotta do this?" he swore as he organized the papers and generally cleaned house, cursing all the while.

"Whoa…where'd you _learn_ all of that?" Kiyone asked, mortified.

"Here and there, what'd ya want?" Kai asked standing.

"Yuri wants you, he said something about a test…"Kiyone said, trailing off nervously when she saw the gleam of joy in his eyes. She gulped, anything that made him happy usually mad the two of them very unhappy.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Rangiku panted heavily, looking triumphantly at the crater she had made.

"Well, you seem pleased," Tsunade commented, "Keep going, you aren't done yet."

Rangiku nodded and continued demolishing the landscape.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 10

-.--.--.---.--.--.--.--.--.-.-

A tanned, red-haired teenager leaped lightly up onto a flat rock. The talking ceased immediately. The young man, Kai, crossed his arms and spoke, "Alright, you know why you're here. Some of you have had enough of the 12th division and their lack of morals. Some of you just plain don't like them. I don't care. Our mission is to infiltrate the 12th division and rescue as many of Kuro-teme's research specimen as possible. That, ladies and gentlemen is your main task. General Yamamoto has ordered us to be ready by the end of the month. This mission is volunteer only. Note that this still does mean that you will be responsible for your Shinigami duties. You can back out now, but if you stay I expect to see you here when we start this show at the end of the month," he looked down at the group and nodded, "If you have any questions, find me or one of the one's that have been here longer."

He watched as they dispersed to find suitable room for their training when he felt the reiatsu of two Brats approach him. Turning, he laughed, Sentaro and Kiyone looked as though they had been fighting Hollows for a few days without rest.

"Grr… this is your entire fault you Bastard!" Kiyone growled, diving at him. Kai easily flipped back, avoiding her attack.

"You'll have to get better than that!" he said, laughing. Kiyone growled and chased him, Sentaro following close behind.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 15

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Extra cots? What for?" Captain Unohana asked curiously.

Kai chuckled nervously, "Well, see…a lot of the time we use too much time training so we don't have enough energy left to get back to the barracks…and the ground's _really_ uncomfortable."

Captain Unohana frowned but said, "We do have some spare cots that you can use. I'll see that they are ready for transport by tomorrow morning."

Kai bowed, "Thank you Captain."

"You have a place for them?"

"Yeah, Akira's working on the seals with a few others now," Kai said, sipping his tea.

Later that evening, Captain Unohana followed a group of fifteen Shinobi though the tunnels to the 'training room'. She looked around in amazement, seeing what had to be at least 100 people training throughout the vast cavern.

"Captain, the K.O.A. is this way," one of the Shinobi said, balancing several of the cots.

"K.O.A.?"

"It stands for Knocked-Out-Area."

"Oh…"

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 18

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Ukitake watched in amusement and some astonishment as Sentaro and Kiyone demolished their paperwork in record time. He 'humm'ed thoughtfully. Sentaro and Kiyone had been running between here and…where ever they were doing their training for almost three weeks. It was paying off. Their reiatsu had increased dramatically and they hadn't argued or shouted in days. It was an amazing change if he did say so himself. He almost wanted to ask them what they were doing, but with them being so busy, he left it alone.

They'd probably say something later, after they were done with whatever they were doing.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Elsewhere

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Hitsugaya set aside his paperwork as Rangiku stumbled in, only slightly late.

"Sorry I'm yawn late Captain. I wore myself out again," she apologized, flopping into her seat and distastefully starting on her paperwork. He frowned as he looked at her battered hands, wrapped in equally battered bandages. "Matsumoto, what are you doing that makes your hands look like you've been punching rocks all day?" he asked, irritability masking his concern. It didn't fool Rangiku.

"I'm not punching rocks, I'm punching _through_ them. Tsunade is teaching me her super-strength technique and it's not as easy as she makes it look," she said cheerfully. Captain Hitsugaya stared, "Punching…_through_…rocks?" he repeated slowly, not sure if he had heard right.

"Yup. I'm getting pretty good at it too."

-.--.--.--.--.-

Later

-.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Hitsugaya looked around in awe. Rangiku had offered to show him what she was doing and he, having nothing better to do, agreed. He wasn't expecting to go deep underground, then into a large cavern with various explosions going off around him. Rangiku herself was happily dragging him to her 'training ground' while pointing out the various Shinobi from their division.

-.--.--.--.--.-

Elsewhere

-.--.--.--.--.-

Akira walked out of the tunnels and squinted in the afternoon glare.

"Midori-kun!" Yachiru said happily, jumping on him, "Are you going to get Hana-chan out soon?" she asked. She was worried not only about him, but also about Nell who was staying in the 11th division for a while. Strangely, Captain Zaraki had suggested the idea. Nell was in the main office coloring a picture when Akira and Nell arrived.

Captain Zaraki looked up when Akira and Yachiru walked through the door, "About time you showed up again," he grunted, glancing briefly at Nell.

"Sorry Captain," he apologized, sitting down, "I just dropped in to tell Nell what's going on and pick up some more clothes."

Nell looked up curiously, "Are you going to get Hana-chan back soon?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, he'll be back with us by the end of the month," Akira said, winking.

"But that's over a week away! Why not now?" Nell demanded, showing more emotion that she had all week.

"Because," he said patently, "There are maybe three hundred and fifty on our side, and over three thousand in 12th division. If we don't plan carefully, all of us could die and Hanataro will still be trapped," Akira said evenly.

Nell's expression dropped and Akira placed a hand on top of Nell's head, "Don't worry, we'll get him out. We used to do things like this all the time, so we'll be fine."

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 21

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Why are we going to the Real World again?" Kiyone asked. Kai sighed, "Because you need mission-clothes and we need ingredients. Not to mention several other things."

Currently Kai, Sentaro, Kiyone, Rangiku and Yuri were standing around, waiting for the gate to open. Finally, the gate opened and the group made their way through it to land in a small town outside of Tokyo. They slipped into their Gigai and the two brothers herded the rest of the group to a Sporting goods store. The boys guided the three into the clothing section and proceeded to show them how to pick out good mission clothing.

Basically, that amounted to anything that was dark, sturdy and loose enough to allow free movement without being too loose.

Shoes came next, all of them got solid work boots that laced up past their ankles.

Next they went to the local supermarket where they split into two groups: one had Yuri and Rangiku and the other had Kai, Sentaro and Kiyone.

Yuri and Rangiku went to the medicine isle where Yuri looked carefully at the medical supplies. He picked up several rolls of ACE bandages as well as several packages of medical tape. Next into the cart went several large bottles of laxatives, as well as a few other things.

"What's all of this for?" Rangiku asked curiously.

"Chemical warfare," Yuri said, looking at a bottle of cough-syrup, "The bandages however, are for you. They'll wrap tighter and hold better than the one's you're using now."

"Oh…"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

With Kai, Sentaro and Kiyone…

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai walked down the isle holding various canisters and containers of cleaning solution. Walking slowly, he absently threw several dozen into the cart before going to the auto-care section and repeating the process.

"What are you doing and what does this have to do with it?" Sentaro asked flatly, not at all sure he wanted to know.

"So glad you asked," Kai said happily, "Each and every thing here, when used properly, can cause an explosion. We're going to make bombs out of this stuff and plant them in the chemical warehouses all around the 12th division."

"Bombs," Kiyone repeated flatly, "You're going to use _bombs_ against the 12th division."

"Yeah, sadly enough, we don't have the time to spend making explosive tags with enough punch to them to get the job done, so we'll have to improvise instead," he said joyfully, chucking about a dozen rolls of duck-tape into the cart alongside the future chemical weapons.

"Now, to the cooking isle!" he said, leading them off in search for more exploding things.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 25

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

"Well, not bad. You've gotten a lot better than I thought you would in such a short time," Tsunade said, settling into a balanced stance, "However; let's see how well you use it in a battle situation!" Tsunade charged, fists at the ready. Rangiku blocked and punched with her free hand.

Across the training field, Sentaro and Kiyone were engaged in their own battle. They were doing an two-on-two against Yuri and Akira with Kai watching from the sides. Sentaro and Kiyone were allowed to use any techniques they knew, and in return, Akira and Yuri weren't going to pull any punches.

Sentaro ducked under Yuri's ice-spear as Kiyone jumped over him to attack but was instead side-swiped by Akira, who knocked her back a good ten feet. Before Sentaro could go after the two of them, Yuri attacked, trying to disembowel him with his odd naginata. He blocked with his sword and kicked out, forcing Yuri to back off. Not wasting time, he turned and attacked Akira from behind. Akira broke away from Kiyone to block the attack and leapt away.

Now Yuri and Akira were on opposite sides of the training field, Sentaro and Kiyone back-to-back in the center, swords held ready to attack or defend.

Watching from the top of a stone spire, Kai looked on with something resembling pride in his eyes, _'Brother, you picked some damn good students. They woulda made some terrifying Shinobi had they grown up in one of the villages…'_ he thought. An idea came to him. Grinning, he started planning.

All it would need is Tsunade's approval.

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 27

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai slipped easily into the shadows, his cargo safely inside his med-pack. Beside him were other members of the 4th division, their med-packs also filled with the make-shift explosives.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, you know what to do," Kai whispered. Like magic, they disappeared deeper into the shadows to plant their cargo.

The explosives were nothing more than weak (for the boys anyway) explosive notes attached to several cans or containers of either explosive or flammable items, all held together with duck-tape. The special thing about these explosives however was that they were remote activated. The master-tag resided safely with Akira. Kai grinned maliciously, pulling out a roll of duck-tape as he attached the explosive underneath a tank marked "Flammable".

The group moved carefully, as one slip-up could doom the entire thing, and most certainly the one who screwed up.

By the time the moon was three-fourths through its journey through the sky, the group was done and they returned victorious.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Day 29

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The entire Shinobi force, almost 400, stood quietly as Tsunade spoke.

"Alright, listen up! Tomorrow is the day we make our move. We gather here at 12:45 tonight, and we attack at 1:10. You all have been given your assignments, you know what you will be responsible for, and you know what's at stake. However, there is one more thing that must be done before we can continue. Sentaro Kotsubaki, Kiyone Kotetsu and Rangiku Matsumoto, come forward," Tsunade said, shifting to Commanding-Hokage voice easily.

The crowd parted as the three made their way to the front of the crowd. Behind Tsunade, the three boys reached behind them and pulled out three small cloth covered items.

"Sentaro Kotsubaki, you have been training under the ANBU Captain, Yui Uchiha, also known here as Hanataro Yamada for several months, followed by training under ANBU member Kai no Sabaku when Yui could no longer continue teaching you. In that time, you have been taught the basics of Shinobi tactics, jutsu and mentality. You have progressed far, coming from Academe level to Chunin level in six months, and in that time you have adhered not only to the rules of Soul Society, but also to the rules that govern any successful Shinobi village. In recognition of that and your talents as a Shinobi, I hereby present you with your official headband and the rank of 'Chunin'. From this moment forward, you may now call yourself a proud Shinobi of Konohagakure," Tsunade said, Akira wordlessly stepped forward and handed him a small cloth covered bundle that turned out to be a hand-carved headband with the spiral-leaf symbol of Konoha etched on the smooth metal surface.

"We'll explain later," Akira said quietly, seeing the questioning look Sentaro shot at him. Sentaro twitched his head slightly in a nod. After a moment of thought, he untied the rope he kept tied around his forehead in a fisherman's knot and tied his new headband sideways in its place. (Same as Zabuza.)

"Kiyone Kotetsu," the girl snapped to attention, " You have also been trained by the ANBU Captain, Yui Uchiha, and have trained alongside Sentaro Kotsubaki. In the space of six months, you have come just as far as he, and have developed a talent for medic jutsu, a difficult field of study for even the more advanced Shinobi. Your teamwork with you teammate is above and beyond average, especially considering that it has only really flourished this past month. You have adapted well to the Shinobi lifestyle and philosophy, especially for one who has come into it as late as you have. In recognition of this, I hereby grant you the rank of 'Chunin'. You may now call yourself a proud Shinobi of Konohagakure."

This time it was Kai who stepped forward and handed her headband to her. She took it reverently, tying it loosely around her neck, deciding to find a better place later.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, you were the last one to be trained by Yui Uchiha, as well as having been my apprentice for the last month. And in that month, you have mastered a technique that took others almost half a year to learn as fully as you have. You also have managed to learn a second set of abilities, ones pertaining to your Cetra blood. In your two months with him, you managed to master your abilities, showing an amazing amount of potential with the special abilities that it grants you. You as well have shown that you are able to adapt to the Shinobi way of life, thus I grant you the title of Chunin. You as well may now call yourself a proud Shinobi of Konohagakure."

Yuri stepped forward and handed her headband to her where she immediately tied it around her forehead, her bangs hanging to either side of the Konoha symbol.

"And with that said, I have only one more thing left to say to you," Tsunade said, fixing the crowd with a deadly glare, "Just don't die!"

The assembled Shinobi let loose a cheer that shook the stones around them, deafining in its intensity.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Several hours later

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The meeting today was, once again, extremely dull. Captain Kyoraku sighed dully, wishing that something would happen to break the monotony of the meeting. An unnoticeable door behind General Yamamoto's chair opened up, admitting his vice captain. He quickly walked up to the General and whispered something to him. General Yamamoto nodded, seemingly to himself, "Good, send him in."

Vice-Captain Sasakibe hesitated for a moment, "Are you sure now would be a good time, sir?"

"Yes. This is a good a time as any other and I can inform the other Captains at the same time."

Vice-Captain Sasakibe bowed, "As you wish, General," he said, leaving through the door. Captain Kyoraku's eyes drifted towards the empty chair that belonged to Captain Kurotsuchi, wondering where the bastard had gone off to this time. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the bastard all month…

This time the main door opened and all eyes focused on the person who stepped calmly through it. He was dressed oddly, a skin-tight, sleeveless black tank-top under dull gray chest armor. Black gloves went up past his elbows, the tips of the fingers cut off. The tops of the gloves were secured with what looked like white medical tape and over the gloves were matching gray arm guards. On his left shoulder was a strange tattoo that made him think of a leaf. Loose black pants were tucked into white bandages and covered by black, open-toed shoes. The expression on the teens' face however, Captain Kyoraku shuddered, that was one look he hadn't seen in many years and to see it on one so young was disturbing in ways he couldn't even begin to describe.

The young man kneeled, "Commander, we're ready. We will attack at 1:10 AM," he said, his voice monotone. To those who knew the young man, the change was as shocking as it was disturbing. Gone was the cheerful, smart-talking, wisecracking young man and standing in his place was a battle-hardened, emotionless killer.

"Understood, how many have volunteered?" General Yamamoto asked.

"Just over four hundred," Kai said automatically, having anticipated a question like this.

"General Yamamoto, what's going on?" Captain Soifong asked.

"Twenty-nine days ago, I received word that one of Captain Unohana's Shinigami had been kidnapped by members of the 12th division. Due to Captain Kurotsuchi's recent actions, and his ethics concerning research, I have allowed the three brothers of the one who was kidnapped to rescue both their brother and as many of Captain Kurotsuchi's research specimens as possible. They were also allowed to recruit as many volunteers as they could, though those who volunteered would still have their Shinigami duties. However, I am curious as to how you got so many people without alerting the rest of Soul Society…"

Kai grinned, it was not a kind grin, "the posters with strange symbols on them was actually a coded message for all Shinobi in Soul Society. It gave directions to a hidden cavern below Soul Society where everyone could train without alerting everyone else."

"Shinobi?" Captain Kuchiki said, his voice barely hiding his scorn, "With so small a number, weaklings like _you_ will have no chance of accomplishing anything."

And to their surprise, Kai laughed.

"So you don't think we can do it, eh?" he laughed again, "If only you knew. Captain Kuchiki, I've been doing missions like this one since I turned 14. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to watch," Kai said, cool golden eyes locking onto Captain Kuchiki's own.

"Be assured, I will," and the unspoken 'I will laugh as you fall' hung wordlessly in the air.

"Kai no Sabaku," General Yamamoto said, effectively cutting through the tension in the air, "I would like you to assemble the Shinobi in front of my office at 12:30 tonight."

"Understood," Kai said, his voice dropping back into the monotone it had been when he first stepped into the room.

"You are dismissed," General Yamamoto said. Kai stood, bowed, and left, leaving confusion amongst the remaining Captains.

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

12:30 that night

-.--.--.--.--.--.-

The Captains gathered quietly, no one saying a word. Almost all believing that the yet-to-arrive Shinobi were going to their deaths.

General Yamamoto stood in the center, quietly waiting and wondering if it wouldn't have been better to send some Captains to do this task instead.

Captain Unohana also stood there silently, but she was praying that none would die tonight. She was also preparing for herself for the multitudes that would enter her division that night as patents.

Captain Ukitake, like his comrades, also stood silently, wondering how many were from his division and who would die tonight. A part of him wondered where Sentaro and Kiyone had gone to, they had been acting strange all day…

Captain Hitsugaya looked around, he was quiet as well, but only out of respect for the others. He snorted quietly, unlike the others, he didn't think there were going to die. He had seen what those Jutsu of theirs could do, not to mention that they were just too damn stubborn to die.

Their thoughts were broken as figures silently ghosted out of the shadows. They all had abandoned standard Shinigami attire, opting for more…Shinobi-like…clothing. The only thing resembling some kind of actual uniform was the strange headband almost every one wore, and even then the symbol varied.

At the front of the group were Kai, Yuri and Akira-both of his brothers wearing matching clothing. Beside them stood Tsunade, Sentaro, Kiyone and Rangiku.

"Reporting as ordered, General," Rangiku said, her voice carrying clearly.

"Rangiku? What are you doing?" Captain Kyoraku asked incredulously.

Rangiku grinned, fingering the headband she had tied around her neck, "I'm with them," she quipped, "Took me all month, but now I'm considered a Chunin level Shinobi of Konoha." She was dressed in dark colors, her v-neck blue shirt dipping low enough to show the bandages she used to restrain her chest. Her strawberry blond hair was braided back tightly. Her brown pants brushed the tops of what looked like black work-boots. Simple black, fingerless gloves adorned her hands, clean white bandages disappearing under them, wrapping clear up to her elbows.

"Sentaro? Kiyone? What on Earth are you two doing?" Captain Ukitake sputtered upon seeing his two subordinates. Sentaro grinned weakly. His headband was still tied sideways on his head, he wore a dark green short sleeve shirt under a black vest. His pants were a dull gray and covered boots similar to Rangiku's. His sword was tied to his waist by a white sash that was wrapped twice around his waist and knotted opposite his sword.

Kiyone was a real shocker, her headband was also around her neck like Rangiku's, but her shirt was a red tank-top that cut off just above her belly-button with a long jacket over it, hitting her knees. She had loose black pants with a multitude of pockets containing who-knew-what.

"Uh…surprise?" Kiyone offered with a weak smile.

"You bet it is," Captain Ukitake said weakly, "What are you _doing_? Are you trying to get _killed_?" he demanded.

"No, but that bastard took Hana-sensei, I want to get him back," Kiyone said firmly, Sentaro nodding in agreement.

"This isn't a game!" Captain Ukitake said, pleading with them to understand, "You could die, all of you could!" he said to the crowd.

"So what else is new?" someone shouted from the back of the crowd. The assembled Shinobi laughed at the dark humor, the Captains did not.

"So what would you have us do?" another asked, her voice carrying cleanly over the crowd, "Sit back as one of our own is tortured for no reason other than 'just because'?"

Shouts of agreement sounded through the crowd, silencing any further protests on the Captains part.

"Quiet!" Tsunade yelled, silencing the Shinobi.

"Captain Ukitake," she said clearly, looking him in the eyes, "I would not have allowed them to become Konoha Shinobi if I didn't think they could handle it," she said, daring him to comment.

"Then there is nothing else to say," General Yamamoto said gravely, "Fight well all of you and try to come back alive. This mission is not so important that you need die for it."

The look in their eyes spoke volumes, 'Yes, this is important enough to risk our lives,' they seemed to say. The General took one last look at them and nodded, "You are free to go," he said and turned to go back inside, the other captains trailing him.

They wasted no time, instead going to their positions. Three hundred headed out to the 12th division, while another hundred headed to the fourth to set up an emergency stabilization center, led by Tsunade herself. One thing was for certain, there would be no second chance.


	21. Bring the House Down

Chapter 21: Bring the House Down

Silence.

It was a wonderful, nerve-wracking thing. In the first division office the assembled Captains watched as the many screens showed human figures hiding themselves in the shadows. A larger, center screen showed the 12th division from the air.

A knocking sound at the door alerted the other captains to a figure at the door.

"What is so important that I must be summoned in the middle of the night?" Captain Kurotsuchi demanded irritably. The General gave him an unreadable look and said, "You have been deemed unworthy to continue to command the twelfth division. You are here to witness the destruction of the atrocities you created."

"What? What are you saying?" Captain Kurotsuchi demanded, "My research has done nothing but benefit Soul Society!"

"And in the process you have committed unspeakable atrocities against the souls we are sworn to protect!" General Yamamoto thundered, "The only reason that I have not acted until now was because there was no one else that could take your position. However, that is no longer the case. You have gone far too far, kidnapping one of your fellow Shinigami. From this moment forward, you are no longer a Captain, or a Shinigami. You will be held pending a trial."

And with that said, the General withdrew a small slip of paper from his robes and channeled some of his reiatsu into it, causing it to alight with flames.

Seconds later, three towers of orange-red flame erupted from the twelfth division.

Kurotsuchi stared in horror as his division proceeded to go up in smoke.

"Wh-what are you doing? My research!" he wailed.

"Binding spell 99: Seal," General Yamamoto said, white cloth wrapping around Kurotsuchi's form as iron shafts pierced him.

"Captain Soifong, take him to the holding cells, the high-security ones," General Yamamoto ordered, "Also, send a message to the Vice-Captains and have them meet here, except for Vice-Captain Matsumoto and the third seats of division thirteen."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

12th division, a few minutes earlier…

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai, Akira, Yuri, Sentaro, Kiyone and Rangiku were crouched on a roof, hidden in the shadows. They were staring at a small slip of paper with a seal on it, waiting for it to ignite.

"So what happens when it ignites again?" Rangiku asked curiously.

"It means that Kurotsuchi is being successfully detained at the first division offices by the General," Kai replied absently. He grinned as the seal ignited and pulled out a second, more complex seal.

"So kiddies, do you like fireworks?" he asked, grinning crazily, spreading the seal out flat between the six of them.

"What is that and what does fireworks have to do with it?" Sentaro asked, confused.

"This is the master-control for the bombs we planted a few days ago. As soon as I channel reiatsu into the seal, it will ignite the others that are attached to the chemical stores. That will trigger a chemical explosion and signal the start of the attack," Kai said, grinning.

"You're crazy," Kiyone said dryly, "You're bat-shit crazy and we didn't notice until now."

Kai shrugged, "Eh, can't win 'em all." And with that said, he channeled a good amount of reiatsu into the seal. Seconds later three pillars of orange-red flame lit up the sky, the sounds of the explosions echoing across the division.

"And there we go," Akira said, "Time to get to work."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Inside the office of the first division, the assembled captains watched in astonishment as explosions ripped through three storehouses, each one just inside the outer boundaries of the division. From the smaller screens, they could see the hidden Shinobi coming out of their hiding places and attacking, causing even more confusion for the Shinigami who were just emerging from their barracks.

"Amazing," Captain Hitsugaya breathed, watching as the several more minor explosions occurred along a pipe that carried chemicals to a secondary warehouse. As confusion and Chaos engulfed those below them, Kai led the group over the roofs to the main lab.

In the distance, they could see other three and four man teams facing along, tossing Jutsu and explosives into the streets below. The streets themselves were clogged with panicking 12th division members. The brothers shared a darkly amused laugh at their plight before moving on.

They ventured deeper into 12th division territory. Here there were less people, this area holding mostly labs of one kind or another. As if to illustrate this, the building acrost from them exploded in a plume of orange-red chemical fire.

"Gyah! What the Hell!" Sentaro yelped, the girls echoing him. Kai frowned at the three, "What's your problem? Buildings have been exploding all around us and _now_ you're freaking out?" he asked, dropping down to street level.

"Ya know, ya shouldn't be so loud. People on the other side of the division might hear you," Akira chided gently, following his brother. Yuri said nothing, only shook his head, amused, and dropped down the three stories after his brothers.

The three grumbled and dropped after their pseudo-teachers. They hid in the shadows, even though there was no one on the ehtire street. They swiftly made their way to their target, the main division labs. They boys were tracking their missing sibling through their telepathic link and wasted no time with the first set of corridors, instead moving deeper into the complex.

Outside, the rest of the Shinobi were having a vast amount of fun, more than they've had in years. "Look at 'em! Like a nest of bugs that got kicked!" One Iwa nin remarked to his squad mates.

"Yeah, yeah," one of his squad mates said, waving his hand dismissively, "Let's go- our lab's just up ahead."

"No sense of humor, none at all," the Iwa Shinobi said while shaking his head but followed anyway.

Several teams had already made their way deep into their assigned labs, and the sight was not pretty. Children, as young as six were chained to the walls, missing limbs. Some tied to tables, mysterious chemicals being pumped into their bodies.

The same happened to the opposite end of the spectrum- they saw elderly people in the same situation as the very young.

In one room, people were chained to tables, their limbs stretched out horribly, some only attached by thin ligaments.

Those people awake when the Shinobi entered, most unable to speak, having lost that ability long ago. One however managed to croak out a single sentence.

"Kill us…please…let it _end_."

The team leader, a Suna Jonin, could only say one thing, "We understand."

That room, and many others all over 12th division, disappeared in a plume of raging fire, taking the relieved occupants with it, onto the next life.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

In the office of 1st division, they could only watch in horror. Captain Unohana had covered her mouth with both hands, tears streaming down her face. The other captains weren't much better off. Even Captain Zaraki was looking mildly horrified.

Captain Hitsugaya was, perhaps, the most affected. He was deadly pale under his tan skin, his hands shaking so badly he fisted them in his robes to hide the shaking. His eyes were wide and locked onto the screens displaying one horrific image after another. Beside him, Captain Ukitake laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Rangiku-san is going to be fine," he murmured quietly, nodding to a screen that showed her team. Captain Hitsugaya only nodded.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The team had come to a dead end. They had been moving swiftly through the halls for some time, meeting nobody. Not even Captain Kurotsuchi and that had them worried.

"Damn, you sure he's this way Yuri?" Kai demanded. Yuri nodded, placing his hand against the cool stone, "Yes, I'm sure. The link is… very strong here. He's close."

Rangiku grinned evilly, "Alright boys, stand aside and let a woman do her job." She stepped up to the wall as the others backed off. She rapped her knuckles against the stone before drawing back the same fist and punching through the stone. Kai let out a low whistle at the size of the hole she made, "Wow, not bad," he said, stepping through the hole.

The room on the other side of the wall was covered in monitors displaying all kinds of information. In the center of the room was a machine.

It was more like a cocoon of wires and tubes. Nestled in the heart of the mechanical monstrosity was a large upright glass tube. The tube itself was filled with a clear, blood-red liquid that gently suspended a human figures. Bubbles rose in short bursts from the bottom of the tank. Etched onto a metal plate embedded into the glass was:

**YAMADA, HANATARO **

They wasted no time, crossing the large room and gathering around the tube. Kiyone laid a palm against the glass, "What…what did they do to him?" she whispered hoarsely.

No one answered her, they could only stare in horrified awe. Hanataro, little Hana-chan, now looked much older, roughly 18 in physical age. His hair hung loose to past his hips, floating loosely around his body in an ebony shroud. His arms floated limply at his sides, partly obscured by his hair that was also providing him some modesty. His face was tilted downward, his mouth and nose covered by a mask. Attached to his body were several thin tubes that disappeared into the top of the machine, feeding him who knew what. The three Chunin stared in open-mouthed horror at the scars that were visible on his still-slender frame.

"It doesn't matter," Akira said, "Right now, we need to get him outta here before Kurotsuchi comes out of hiding."

"Right. Kai, Akira, can the two of you break through this?" Yuri asked, taking command. After receiving their confirmations, he turned to the other three, "Sentaro, Rangiku, start looking around the room for anything that could relate to his current condition. Kiyone, we'll need your coat."

"My coat? What for?" she asked, already shrugging it off and handing it to the blue haired teen.

"In case you haven't noticed, Yui isn't wearing much," Yuri said dryly, "On top of that, he's soaking wet. Him catching a cold on the way back could be disastrous."

"Oh," she said quietly, understanding and mortification dawning on her. "Yes, 'oh'. Go help the other two search for any important documents," Yuri ordered, turning to watch his brothers, Kiyone's coat draped over his arm loosely.

The boys held out their right hand and gathered their reiatsu to it. Twin swirling balls of reiatsu formed; Akira's a deep emerald green, Kai's a bloody red. As one, they thrust the spheres into the glass tower.

The tower, thick as it was, shattered against the combined might of two Rasengan. Without the glass to contain it, the red liquid poured out onto the floor, carrying Yui with it. Yuri gently wrapped the coat around him and easily lifted him, noting with amusement that even though he was now pushing five foot ten, he was still abnormally light.

"Have you guys found anything?" he asked, shifting Yui so that his head was resting on Yuri's shoulder instead of flopping limply off to the side. "I think so," Sentaro said, holding up a thick manila folder.

"Good, let's go."

And with that, they ran from the room.

Unknown to them, all of the explosions were weakening the prison of a monstrous being that Kurotsuchi had been keeping deep below his division.

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Cracka!_

_Craka__-BANG!_

The monster roared, stretching. It's devastating claws gouging deep trenches into the stone of the floor. With an earth-shattering roar, the creature launched itself through the ceiling, breaking through to the surface.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

They were running back through the halls. Sentaro was now carrying Yui with Kiyone and Rangiku flanking him. Yuri took the lead with Kai and Akira bringing up the rear of the group. They could see the door up ahead, the moonlight shining through the door in contrast to the orange-red flames of the buildings. Reaching the courtyard, Kai took the lead, heading for the nearest tunnel entrance to avoid the worst of the explosions. They were passing through a large courtyard when the ground in front of them exploded.

What emerged from the hole could only be described as demonic. Black scales rustled over a heavily muscled body. Deadly claws extended from massive paws, striking sparks against the stone with every move they made. It's eyes were a molten silver, fangs extending from its elongated square maw and dripped burning acid saliva onto the ground.

"Rangiku, Sentaro, Kiyone, take Yui and run. Now!" Yuri said lowly, his analytical mind running miles a minute to come up with a workable battle plan. "What?" Kiyone shouted angrily, "We can fight too!"

"That's not the goddamned point!" Yuri barked angrily, raising his voice for the first time that the three had ever heard, "Stay here and you'll only be in our way when we fight. Yui _needs_ medical attention and he needs it fast. His life is in your hands, now move," he hissed, his blue eyes flashing. The three Chunin hesitated for only a second before running as though the hounds of hell were just behind them.

"Well, now what do we do?" Akira asked, drawing a wicked looking long dagger. Yuri laughed, detaching his naginata from its place on his back, "What we normally do- wing it and hope we're still alive at the end of things."

Kai grinned as his kusagama's chain trickled to the ground, "Great! We should be done here in time to catch breakfast," he quipped.

"Only you would be thinking of food at a time like this," Yuri said, shaking his head in self-pity.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

The Captains watched as the three ANBU sent the newly-appointed Chunin away with their brother safely in Sentaro's arms.

"What…what happened to him?" Captain Unohana asked, voicing everyone else's thoughts. "I don't know, but the answer might be in the files that Kiyone is carrying," Captain Ukitake said worriedly. The screens were now focused on the three ANBU calmly facing off against some reptilian monster.

"How can they be so calm?" Captain Komamura asked wonderingly, "They look like they could be talking about the weather!"

"Because panicking now would only get them killed," Tsunade said from the doorway, surprising the occupants of the room. "Who are you?" Captain Soifong demanded angrily, mentally cursing herself for not noticing her sooner.

"My name is Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, not that the title would mean anything to you people anyway," the lady, Tsunade, said. She turned to face Captain Unohana saying, "Captain Unohana, think you could write a note or something for your Vice-Captain, preferably before I'm forced to knock her out?"

"What do you mean by that?" Captain Unohana asked calmly.

"Me and a bunch of the other medic-non have set up a stabilization center in front of the main hospital. We stabilize them then ship them inside for further treatment. Your Vice-Captain is trying to interfere wit our job. Apparently she doesn't understand what the differences are between field care and Hospital care."

"I understand. I will send a message directly. Please help yourself to any supplies you may need to stabilize the incoming patents," Captain Unohana said gravely.

Tsunade nodded gratefully, "Thanks. Oh, and don't worry about that dragon-thing. My Godsons may be out of practice, but they're not _that_ out of shape. They grew up killing things like that, they know what they're doing," and with that said, she swept out of the room, a black butterfly floating around her head.

Seconds later the Vice-Captains from the other divisions materialized in front of the room, all except for one. Captain Kyoraku looked around the room for a second before saying, "Uh, has anyone seen Nanao-chan?"

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Back at the 12th division, the boys were having more trouble than they had anticipated. "Shit! The fuck did Kurotsuchi _do_ to this thing?" Kai demanded, ducking under the dragon's huge, scaly tail.

"Who knows, just kill the damn thing!" Yuri shouted back at his brother, plunging his naginata into it's less-protected underside.

"Doton: Earth Spike!" Akira called, causing massive stone spikes to come up from under the beast. It gave an angry bellow and back-handed Kai, sending him through a wall.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Nanao Ise was torn. On one hand, she wanted to go to the Vice-Captains' meeting, like her mind said she should. On the other hand, she wanted to pick up her old weapons, tie on her headband and join the rest of the Shinobi and fight the way she grew up fighting.

A loud roar split the air. Her head snapped up and focused on the sound. It was coming from the 12th division. Of course, she knew about the attack, every Shinobi in Soul Society knew about it, she was one of the few that had decided to stay out of it. Because if she did help, if she did return to her old life, used the skills she had possessed in her past life, she was unsure if she would be able to return to being a Shinigami. However…part of her simply didn't care anymore and that's the part of her that took control.

Mesh shirt wind on, the sleeves going to her elbows, over that a short-sleeved Gi, wide sash tying it closed. Loose pants completed her wardrobe, the traditional Shinobi boots on her feet. Attached to her right thigh was a kunai pouch. Her headband was the last thing to go on, the symbol of Konoha sitting in the center of her forehead.

Seconds later, she was leaping across the roofs, a Shinobi of Konoha once again.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Kai growled as he dodged the creatures claws, throwing a wave of sand at it. "YURI! ANY TIME NOW WOULD BE GOOD!" he yelled, leaping backward.

Yuri shook his head from the roof of the building he was on. Standing, he leaped out and up, over the dragon, his Naginata pointed blade-down. The blade sunk fully into the dragon's back. Running down the dragons' back, he dragged the blade though both scales and muscles, creating a large, deep gash. Yuri leaped away, twisting mid-air to avoid it's lashing tail. The beast roared in agony, blood dripping down it's sides.

The boys stayed back, avoiding it's attacks as best they could in the relatively cramped space.

"Rasengan!" Akira shouted, plunging the deep emerald green sphere into the beast's front-right elbow joint. The beast roared again and backhanded him, throwing him backward through a building.

"Shit! Akira!" Kai yelled worriedly, his sand rising to block the beast's tail. His worry distracted him for just long enough. "Kai, MOVE!" Yuri yelled, panic piercing his voice. "Wha?" Kai started to say, turning to see the beast's claw coming down at him way too fast for him to do anything. Next thing he knew, something else had slammed into him and shoved him out of the way, sending both him and his mysterious savior rolling along the ground.

Dizzy, the two stood. It took Kai a second to recognize the young woman, but when he did, he grinned and said, "Welcome back, Ise."

"Shut up. We can talk later," Nanao Ise said crossly, "Right now we have to get rid of this thing before it destroys something important."

"Right, right. But can you keep up with us?" Kai asked, smirking.

Nanao grinned. Oddly enough, it reminded him of Captain Zaraki when he was in bloodlust-mode.

"Just watch me."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Kyoraku stared, his mouth hanging open in pure shock. His mind had shut down the moment Nanao had rushed out onto the battle field and tackled the red-haired boy, Kai. "Wha-what the Hell?" he sputtered finally, his brain kicking into gear.

His sweet Nanao-chan was a Shinobi? When did that happen? Why didn't she ever tell him? The other Captains were in a similar state of shock. Captain Zaraki was the only one who was the exception, he grinned viciously, "Heh, I knew she wasn't a normal Shinigami."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Meanwhile, Tsunade was having her own problems…

"Look, quit bitching and do what I said," she snapped, her eyes glinting angrily. The third seat of the fourth division 'eep'ed and scuttled off to do as the scary lady said. Tsunade growled irritably and turned back to her patent.

Around her, her one hundred med-nin rushed around, ordering the lower-ranking members of the fourth division around. The higher ranking ones were working alongside the medic-nin.

After they had heard the message from that 'Hell Butterfly' sent by Captain Unohana, things had gone much smoother. The stabilization center was sending people in as fast as they could take them.

"Tsunade!" Rangiku yelled, barreling through the people around her, Sentaro and Kiyone right behind her, "Kurotsuchi's done something to Yui!" Hearing this, Tsunade swore fluently and called someone over to finish what she'd started. Seconds later, she was running diagnostic Jutsu over the…changed form of her Godson.

She paused for a moment, taking in his changed form before shaking her head and returning to work. There would be time to analize what had happened to him latter. She looked up, catching sight of the folder Kiyone was clutching to her chest. "Kiyone, is that-"

"We found it in the lab where he was being kept. It looks like it has something to do with what happened to him. Tsunade nodded once, canceling the Jutsu. "Take him inside, there isn't anything I can do for him now and he is in no immediate danger."

The three nodded and hurried inside.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Between the four of them, the draconian creature was on its last legs. Unfortunately, so were they. One month, no matter how hard you train, is not enough to make up for one hundred years of relative inactivity. Even Nanao was having trouble, though she was better off and was alternating between Kido and Jutsu.

Kai had several cuts and scrapes, the largest of which being a gash on his upper back that was more than likely going to need stitches. Akira was much the same, though he had claw marks raking across his chest, his armor the only thing that had saved him from being disemboweled. Either way, the gashes definitely needed stitches. Yuri was panting lightly, paler than usual, his movement heavily restricted due to the fact that his left leg was fractured, along with several ribs. Nanao herself had been thrown back, skidding along the ground with enough force to create a trench. Naturally, her clothing was ripped and she had several deep cuts where small bits of stone were embedded in them. She also had a cut above her eye that dripped blood into it.

The beast was in bad shape as well. Blood dripped steadily down it's body in steady streams, creating a gigantic pool of blood at its feet. It was swaying unsteadily on its feet, looking like it would collapse at any moment. Seconds later, it did just that.

The beast crashed to the ground, creating small tremors and sending blood flying through the air as it hit the small pond of blood underneath itself. The four Shinobi watched for a good five minutes before approaching the beast. Not wanting to take any chances, Akira summoned up a Rasengan and plunged it straight into the middle of its forehead, going through the bone and into the brain.

Kai flopped down on the ground, ignoring the blood that was covering it and crossed his legs, "Gah, what the Hell'd he do to him," Kai complained, running his bloody hands through his hair. It didn't really bother him that his hands were covered in blood when he did so because so was his hair.

"Who knows and who cares. All that matters now is that it's dead," Yuri said, limping over, "We should get out of here before anyone else shows up, like Vice-Captain Kurotsuchi."

"Don't worry," Nanao said, clutching her shoulder, blood was dripping down her injured arm and fingers, adding to the mess on the ground, "She should be at the 1st division offices, all of the Vice-Captains were called there."

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Captain Kyoraku was pacing back and forth in the early dawn light, waiting for Nanao. Every bond in his body wanted to run to her, carry her back and never let her go again. Theo only thing keeping him from doing so was General Yamamoto who had ordered him to stay at the main hospital.

His head snapped around as he saw the cloud of sand descend from the sky, leaving four exhausted Shinobi kneeling/sitting on the ground. Five seconds later, he had shunpo'ed by her side, his brown eyes dark with worry.

All four of them looked like hell. They were covered in blood, dirt, gore and who knew what else. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up.

"Captain? What are-"

"Don't talk, your injured," he said, cutting her off. For once, Nanao obeyed, her eyes dull and glazed with pain, her skin paler than what it should be underneath all of the blood and grime. Tsunade was right behind him, Captain Unohana and Vice-Captain Kotetsu following. Without wasting time, the four of them were taking to the Critical-injury ward, the three healers working on them as they moved.

Captain Kyoraku was forced to wait outside the room as the three medics got to work, the third seat joining them shortly after.

There was blood all over the front of his robes from where Nanao had been, but he didn't care. Rangiku came up behind him, he didn't say anything.

"She didn't want to tell you because she didn't want you to be afraid of her," she said suddenly, surprising him, "She didn't want you to think differently of her. You know Shinobi don't have good reputations with the rest of Soul Society."

Captain Kyoraku said nothing, his dark eyes still focused on the door, not giving any sign that he had heard her.

Rangiku sighed, there would be no getting through to him now, he was too far out of it. "Well, if you want to talk, I'll be with Sentaro and Kiyone in room 666."

"Why there? Are they hurt?" Captain Kyoraku asked, turning to her. Rangiku suppressed a grin, maybe he wasn't as far out as she had thought, "Nah, we're fine. Room 666 is where Yui-sensei is."

"'Yui-sensei'? I thought his name was Hanataro Yamada," Captain Kyoraku said, confusion and interest in his voice.

Mentally, Rangiku did the happy-dance. "'Hanataro Yamada' is a name he chose for himself after he came to Soul Society. The name that his parents gave him is Yui Uchiha," she explained shortly, not going into any detail.

"Oh," he said, turning back to the door.

"You know there isn't anything that you can do for her now, right? Don't worry, Tsunade-chan is one of the best medic-nin in existence, and Captain Unohana is the best Medic Soul Society has, so there isn't any reason to worry. Come on, Captain Ukitake is there too, you may as well join us."

With that, she all but dragged the older Captain off, refusing to allow him to get depressed.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

In room number 666, one Yui Uchiha (or Hanataro Yamada, depending on who you talked to,) slept on, unaware of the people around him who were anxiously waiting for him to wake up. Nell sat on the bed by his head. She reached out with her small hand and traced his jawbone, "Kiyone-chan, why does he look so much older now?" she asked innocently.

"I don't know Nell-chan," Kiyone admitted sadly, she had been going through the file since they had gotten a chance to sit down and nothing in it made sense. It was all kinds of technical mumbo-jumbo and words that took up half a line to write out fully. She sighed and took the chance to look at her Sensei. His face were now much sharper, more defined and look almost aristocratic. His hair was now much longer, ragged, and had been parted down the center of his head and lay on either side of him, above the covers. He was in one of the white yukata that was standard-issue for all patients. She frowned, even through all of his physical changes; he was still far too skinny. Though she couldn't really use 'skinny' to describe him, 'slender' would be a more accurate word.

Across from him, Captain Ukitake sat, making his own analysis and coming up with mostly the same thing as Kiyone. At about that time, Rangiku came in, Captain Ukitake trailing him.

"So, has there been any change?" she asked, coming to stand beside Kiyone. The smaller girl shook her head, "No, not a thing."

Captain Kyoraku looked closely at the boy. He had seen the boy on a few occasions, usually when he was visiting his division members in the hospital. Then he always looked tired and timid. Now, he looked at peace. In fact, he looked more at peace then he had ever seen, and from the looks of his three 'students', it was the most at-peace they had seen him in as well.

Nell yawned and curled up beside Yui, her head resting on his shoulder and one hand clutching his hospital robe. Slowly, her eyelids dropped and she fell asleep. The other occupants of the room also fell asleep, all of them having been up all night.

In the Critical-Injury ward, the medics working on the four Shinobi were finishing up, exhausted beyond belief. The four Shinobi were moved into rooms near Yui's, still out due to the drugs they had given them. Shortly after, the three medics had collapsed into empty beds as well, the night's work having exhausted the lot of them. No one blamed them and soon all of the fourth division medics who had helped with the crisis were asleep, along with the Medic-nin from various divisions.

For a short time, all was quiet, giving them a chance to rest and recover. For now, that was all that General Yamamoto could ask.

-.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.-

Meh, I know that this is up a lot sooner than you are used to, but I'm feeling unusually kind today.

Thank-you to those who voted in my poll, you know who you are.

And now, thus ends the first arc of the story! From here on out, things are going to get a lot more exciting.


	22. Will Of Fire Burns You: pt 1

Chapter 22: Will of Fire Burns You: Part one

In a bed in the fourth division hospital in room 666 slept a young man. Watching over this young man was another young man, two young women and a small child. Captain Unohana paused at the door, unsure as to how to proceed. She sighed softly and knocked on the door frame, alerting the others to her presence. 

"Captain Unohana, do you know why he's not waking up?" Rangiku asked immediately. Captain Unohana shook her head sadly, "No, as far as I have been able to determine, whatever drug that had been injected into his system ash worked its way though his body already. The liquid he was…kept in was nothing more than a vitamin and mineral solution, so that is not the problem. Honestly, right now all we can do is wait for him to wake up on his own."

Real World

Ichigo sighed dully, dropping his book bag by his bed and flopping down onto the bed, face-first. 

He officially hated his life. 

After telling his friends, he had taken them to meet Hat-and-Clogs and Youruichi. The three of them had taken the news fairly well, even Tatsuki, who had demanded to know why Ichigo hadn't told them. Even then she had nearly killed him for getting Orihimi into that mess. That would also be the reason that both she and Keigo weren't currently talking to him.

He had tried to explain that telling them would only put them in danger, but she was far too mat at him to listen. Keigo was pissed, though he already knew about Shinigami due to Ikkaku and Yumichika. Mizuiro was the surprising one; he had accepted it with a calm smile and had thanked Ichigo for telling him. Ichigo groaned, the sound muffled by the pillow.

"So, what's got you so down, Berry-head?"

Ichigo looked up to see Renji sitting on his windowsill, his arm badge attached to his upper arm. 

"Why are you here, and what's with the arm badge?" Ichigo demanded irritability. 

"Official Soul Society business. Captain Kuchiki's down stairs talking to your dad."

"About what?" Ichigo demanded, sitting up. Renji shrugged, "Not sure, though Youruichi and Kitsuki are our next stop after this, so you all might be going to Soul Society together."

"Ichigo, get Karin and Yuzu and come down stairs now. And bring your friend with you," Isshin called from downstairs. Sending Renji a dark look, he stepped out into the hallway to find Karin and Yuzu already waiting for him. 

"We heard Goatbeard yelling. What's up?" Karin asked, Yuzu standing just behind her, looking worried. "Don't know, but I know what it's about…kinda," Ichigo said, passing them and starting down the hallway. Karin and Yuzu stared at the red-haired, black-robed stranger for a moment.

"You're dead aren't you?"

"Yup."

"Let's go, Goatbeard sounded serious," Karin said, following her brother. Yuzu spared one last look at the stranger before hurrying after Karin, the stranger right behind her. The group of four found themselves in the kitchen with a tall regal stranger. "I will make this short. Ichigo and Isshin Kurosaki, you are to return to Soul Society immediately."

Isshin frowned and Ichigo's reiatsu flared angrily. 

"What?" Ichigo hissed angrily, his reiatsu flowing freely around him in yellow wisps," "You expect me to just act like nothing happened? You sorry sons of b-"

"Ichigo. That's enough," Isshin said calmly, almost coldly, "Byakuya, you have a lot of nerve coming here like this. You seem to be forgetting that Karin and Yuzu are not Shinigami. Not to mention that you stripped my son of that title. Why should we listen to you?"

Byakuya called on all his self control to keep from flinching. Renji didn't have that kind of self control and gulped audibly. Karin moved in front of Yuzu, the latter fisting her hands in the formers shirt. Whoever these people were, neither Ichigo or her father liked them and that was reason enough for Karin to be on her guard. 

"Be that as it may, Soul Society's orders must be obeyed by all Shinigami. The General has made an exception for your daughters," Byakuya said, barely meeting Isshin's eyes. 

Isshin laughed humorlessly, "So the old man's that desperate, huh? Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, what do you think? Up for a trip?"

Karin and Yuzu were quiet. Isshin had explained what he and Ichigo were, and about Shinigami and Hollows when the two of them had been chased home by a Hollow. It had been more that a little surprising to learn that their idiot father was a Shinigami Captain…

The twins' eyes met, they came to a decision. "We'll go."

"Are you two sure? We may not be back for a while," Isshin said, his eyes unreadable. 

"We're sure. Besides, they don't look like they'd take 'no' for an answer," Karin pointed out.

"Fine," Isshin turned back to Byakuya, "We will go with you. But we are not going to be treated as prisoners.

"Understood."

20 minutes later 

The Kurosaki family gathered outside the Urahara Shop. Kitsuki opened the door as they approached. 

"So, what is the captain of the 6th division and his vice-captain doing on my doorstep with the Kurosaki clan right behind them?" 

"Your banishment has been terminated. You and Youruichi Shihoin are to return to Soul Society immediately."

"Oi! Is that Bya-kun out there?" the distinctive voice of Youruichi rang through the shop. 

"Yeah! They want us to go back to Soul Society!" Kitsuki called back to her.

Youruichi stepped out of the shop and looked around at the gathered group. "So…did anyone think to ask _why_ they're dragging us back?"

"The Captain of the 12th is being put on trial for inhumane experiments," Renji volunteered, "It was amazing! Apparently…" Renji launched into the tail of the 12th division's demise. However, there was one thing he didn't count on, "Oh! And you'll never believe who was kidnapped! Hanataro Yamada. Apparently Hanataro's real name is Yui Uchiha or something like that." 

Youruichi paled, "You mean to tell me," she whispered harshly, "That damn bastard used one of _my_ boys as a guinea pig?!" Her voice rose until she was shouting. Beside her, Kitsuki was looking equally furious. 

"Do…you know him?" Isshin asked, not recalling the name.

"Know him? I practically raised him and the other three!" Youruichi snarled, spinning in place and disappearing back into the shop. "Wait-what?" Ichigo said, vocalizing the thoughts of most of those present. 

She was back a minute later, a back pack full to bursting and an old heavy book under one arm, "Ok, let's go." 

Kitsuki shrugged, making no move to gather any of his things, Tessai, take care of the shop for a while."

"Ossu!" 

And with that, the group went through the gates of Soul Society, the gates already having been specially prepared for their passing. They exited near the fourth division. "We have to go to Captain Unohana for a check-up first," Renji explained, "Also, Yui's room is in the main hospital, along with his brothers' rooms' right next to his." Youruichi nodded, Kitsuki said nothing. 

Isshin was starting to get worried, he'd _never_ seen the two of them act like this before and frankly, it was _scary._ They made their way to the main hospital quickly, people instinctively clearing a path as the two Captain-level Shinigami stormed their way through the streets. They found themselves in a waiting room overlooking the street below. Captain Kuchiki and Renji had left them there, presumably to report to the General. Youruichi squirmed irritably in her seat for a while before pulling out her heavy book and opening it to the first page. 

It was a very old photo album of her, Kitsuki and the boys. Slowly, she flipped through the pages, lost in a world of memories. It was a short while later that Captain Unohana entered, "It's good to see you again," she said to the assorted Shinigami, she walked over to the twins, "I don't believe we've met before, I am Captain Unohana of the fourth division."

"I'm Yuzu and this is my sister, Karin," Yuzu said, smiling. Karin crossed her arms and grumbled. 

"How's he doing?" Youruichi asked.

"Who?" 

"Yui, and the other three. How are they doing?" she asked again.

"They are doing well, but may I ask why you are worried about them?" Captain Unohana asked, genuinely curious. Youruichi hesitated for a moment before handing her the photo album. 

Captain Unohana took it carefully and opened it to about the middle page and simply stared in shock. There staring back at her was a picture of the tow captains and four young boys. Four young boys that she had gotten to know very well. 

"What?"

"When we left Soul Society, we wound up just outside a place called Konohagakure. We met Yui when he was about five or six years old," Youruichi said, "We decided to stay there and met the other three when they came to Konoha."

"I…see," Captain Unohana said at last, "If you like, I could show you to their rooms after your physical." Youruichi smiled, "That would be great."

"Captain Unohana, Tsunade-" The person who just entered froze at the sight of the room's occupants. 

"Masaki?" Isshin asked, his voice choked. Masaki also found herself having trouble with her own voice and settled for nodding furiously. "Mom?" Ichigo asked, in the same state his father was in. Karin and 

Yuzu looked at the lady. It was her, their mother. They didn't remember much, but they knew that this woman was her.

"Kaa-chan!" Yuzu squealed, running to Masaki and throwing her arms around her, the rest of the family not far behind. It was a Kurosaki-pile as eve3rone hugged Masaki and Masaki hugged everyone else. 

The other three occupants of the room watched the touching scene for a moment before Kitsuki loudly cleared his throat. The group broke apart slowly, though they all stayed close, as though they were afraid that it would turn out to be a dream. "I'm sure you're happy to see each other, but can we get a move on it? I still want to see my boys," Youruichi said. 

"OH, uh…sorry?" Isshin said, scratching the back of his head. They sat back down, Masaki in Yuzu's spot with the latter sitting on her lap. As the five of them started to catch up on their lives, Captain Unohana gave them a quick physical. 

Just as she was finishing up with a rather irritated Ichigo, Tsunade came in. "Oi, Captain Unohana, did-Youruichi, Kitsuki, what the Hell are the two of you doing here?"

"Tsunade-chan!" Youruichi said, surprised, before embracing the blond woman, "Apparently, Soul Society has decided they just can't live without us," she grew serious, "Tsunade, what happened to my boys?"

Tsunade sighed, "Sit down, Abari told you, didn't he? Kid gossips like an old lady," she grumbled, And with that, she told the assembled group the full story. At the end of it, both Kitsuki and Youruichi looked ready to murder someone, namely Kurotsuchi. 

"And how badly were they hurt?" Kitsuki asked. 

"Kai ended up with several badly fractured ribs, a minor concussion, several gashes requiring stitches and heavy blood-loss. Akira also broke some of his ribs, ended up tearing up his chest pretty badly and 

broke his wrist. Yuri came out with a broken leg, blood loss and several minor fractures. All three of them were covered in minor abrasions and heavy bruising."

Youruichi fell limply back into a chair, "And Yui?" she asked, almost dreading the answer. 

"Physically? He's fine. Apparently the drug sped up his physical growth dramatically. He's actually looking his age now. But he's still in a coma."

Youruichi and Kitsuki noticeably slumped in relief. 

"Excuse me, but I'm done now. If you'd like, we can go and see them," Captain Unohana said. They made and odd group, going through the hospital as they did. By the time they made it to the 6th floor, Youruichi and Kitsuki could barely contain themselves. 

"I keep telling you people, I'm just fine!" Kai's voice rang out from room 667. Youruichi grinned, it didn't sound like her little sand-mite had changed much at all. 

"Now, now, Kai-chan, what did I say about arguing with the medics?" Youruichi sang from the doorway. Kai's head snapped around so fast, Youruichi was surprised he didn't hurt himself.

"Neko-nee-chan! Ero-ji-baka!" A red-haired Kai-bullet slammed into Youruichi, engulfing her in a hug, ignoring his ribs. From their beds, Akira and Yuri were grinning. Akira hauled himself out of his bed and helped Yuri to his feet, ignoring the protesting medics and hobbled over to the rest of their 'family'. 

"Hey! Don't I get a hug?" Kitsuki pouted. "No Ero-ji," Kai replied, letting go of Youruichi, "I'm not gonna hug you, I'm gonna kick you through the wall!" he said, grinning manically, "Besides that, who'd want to hug a perverted old man like you?"

"Alright you three, back into your beds," Tsunade said, cutting in, "You can talk later." Grumbling, the boys reluctantly returned to their respective beds. 

"Hey! What's with all the noise?" Kiyone asked, coming around the door and froze, Rangiku and Sentaro bumping into her. 

"Hey Kiyone-chan! Just us saying 'Hi' to Neko-nee-chan and Ero-ji," Kai said happily and laughed as her face went from confusion to recognition to shock in all of about five seconds. 

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Kiyone sputtered out, "Have a little respect! These two-"

"Are the people who are the closest things to parents the four of us had for the majority of our life on earth," Yuri cut in smoothly, silencing any further comment. The three of them were saved from any kind of reply when Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake came up behind them, wanting to know what was going on. They were quickly filled in by the rest of the occupants and were as dumbstruck as the rest of them. 

"Whatever. Look, it's nice to see all of you, but if you don't mind, I'm going to go see Yui," Youruichi said, waving goodbye. The three boys just shrugged, they were used to her behavior. Those who were not bed-bound left the room and moved next door, where the arrancar Nell kept vigil over the sleeping Shinobi. 

"So, how long is he going to stay like this?" Youruichi asked.

"A very long time, I'm afraid, it's possible that he may never wake up and instead waste away," said a new voice. A transparent girl in a pink dress with a dark pink jacket with emerald eyes and long braided brown hair said.

"Aerith. What are you doing here?" Youruichi demanded. She had nothing against the woman personally; it's just that every time she showed up, her boys were sent to a whole new level of hell. 

"To gather those who wish to help him. You see, while there is nothing wrong with him physically, he has lost his will to live. Bahamut is with him now, with Kyuubi and Ragnarok. The three of them are 

doing their best to keep him here, but it is not going to be enough. Not even an Aeon can heal a soul so shattered. It will ultimately be up to him whether or not he returns to this world."

"WHAT! You mean he's just going to give up and die!" Kiyone shouted, "Oh no he's not! You tell him that he better wake up or I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"KIYONE! Watch you language!" Captain Ukitake scolded. Kiyone crossed her arms, frowning.

"There is a way for you to help him, if you are willing," Aerith said slowly, "Though it will not be easy for you."

"What do we have to do?" Masaki asked, "If it wasn't for him, I would not have been able to be reunited with my family," she explained. 

"You will have to go into his Soul-world. At this point, he has retreated deeply into his world. To get to him, you will have to pass through the memories of his time on earth. I will warn you now, they are not at all pleasant," Aerith said.

"I'm going," Masaki said firmly. She was joined quickly by Rangiku, Sentaro and Kiyone. 

"Masaki, are you sure that you want to do this?" Isshin asked.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"Then I'm going with you," Isshin said, Ichigo immediately agreeing.

"We're coming too," Kitsuki said, speaking for both him and Youruichi.

"I'm afraid not," Captain Kuchiki said, making his presence known, "The General has requested that the two of you meet with him, now."

"Don't worry," Captain Ukitake said, reading the look on Youruichi's face correctly, "I'll go with them to make sure that things go smoothly. We'll bring him back," he reassured her.

"Well, if you are going to go do something like this, then I suppose that I will have to come along as well," Yumichika said from the doorway, Yachiru beside him. 

"No offence, but why the Hell do you want to go? I didn't think that you even knew him," Ichigo said.

"Well, it's only natural that I get to know him, after all, he spends a lot of time with the vice-captain and about half his time at the 11th division. Besides, he's a very…interesting person. The fact that he was able to fight off so many of the 12th division Shinigami for so long with just a small knife attests to some skills, especially if he hasn't trained in a long time," Yumichika said, flashing his trademark smile. 

Reluctantly, they agreed to allow him to come. Yachiru and Nell sat off to the side, neither one knowing exactly what was going on.

Youruichi and Kitsuki left the room reluctantly. Aerith looked around at the gathered Shinigami. The group to go consisted of: Masaki, Rangiku, Sentaro, Kiyone, Ichigo, Isshin, Yumichika and Captain Ukitake. Tsunade and Captain Unohana were staying behind for medical purposes.

"Is this all who are going?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get going. The Old Mans' probably going to be calling for me next," Isshin joked. Aerith nodded and raised her hands, "Then let us go to his Soul-world." 

The room was filled with the green-ish glow of the Lifestream and the world around those who were going to journey to Yui's Soul-world disintegrated. When the light cleared, they could only look around in amazement. 

They were standing in what could only be described as a wasteland. Everywhere they looked there were signs of death and destruction. 

The world looked to have been very beautiful at one time; there were piles of stones that looked at one time to have been buildings; however now all that remained were the remains of walls no higher than two feet at most. The trees were dead or dying, black and grey mosses clinging to the limbs in place of leaves. The sky was a deep, bloody red, veined with sapphire blue. The ground was covered in bare patches of grey, dusty dirt and upon closer inspection reviled that it was in fact ash. They were standing on a pathway made of chipped, cracked inky black stones that wound through the forest.

"From here you are on your own," Aerith said, "I'm afraid that I used up all of my energy to get you here. Don't worry about trying to find his memories, just follow this path. It will take you to the center of his world," with those cryptic words, Aerith faded away in a flurry of jade sparks. 

"Well, shall we?" Yumichika asked, starting down the path. 

Sorry that this is so late. Between the dreaded writer's block and a Science project that my entire Science grade rides on, I didn't have a lot of time left for writing. 

I know that the journey to Soul society was a little rushed, but it was the only way I could think of. And now the Kurosaki clan is back together, Yui's become something of a celebrity and the boys have their Neko-nee-chan and Ero-ji back, and Yumichika showed up just in time to get in on the action.

Read and review.


	23. Will of Fire Burns You:Loss of Childhood

Chapter 23: Will of Fire Burns You: pt 2: The Loss of Childhood

* * *

The group of eight walked quickly down the path, sticking close together despite themselves. No one could deny that this place was creepy. There was no sound other than the sound of their footsteps, nobody talked.

"What does it mean, for his Soul-world to be in such a state?" Masaki asked at last. It was Sentaro that answered her, "Nothing good, a Soul-world reflects the condition of a persons' soul and manifests itself accordingly. In that way, it's like our zanpakutō. However, unlike a zanpakutō, it shows how 'healthy' a soul is. If a person is overall happy or content, then their Soul-world will reflect that. But if a person is depressed or sad, then the world will reflect accordingly."

"So…this means that he's…what? Depressed?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, and by the state of his world, for a very long time. I've never heard of a world so torn and broken," Captain Ukitake said.

Before anyone could comment further, there was a brilliant flash of white light, enveloping the entire group. When it cleared, they were no longer standing in the broken remains of Yui's world, but in an entirely different setting.

* * *

(A/N: from here on out, italics will be used when the group is talking or doing something and normal type will be used for the memories.)

"Kaa-chan, can we get some ice-cream?" A small, five year old boy with long-ish ebony hair said, looking up at a beautiful, pink-haired woman with jade eyes. "Hmm…we'll see, Yui-chan, we'll see. But first we 

have to go stop off at the Hokage's office, there's someone there that we want you to meet," Sakura Uchiha said.

"_So, that's his mother?" Yumichika said, "She is quite beautiful."_

"_She seems quite kind, I wonder what made her try to kill him," Masaki asked, shocking the others."What do you mean by that?" Kiyone demanded. "Just what she said," Rangiku said before Kiyone could continue, "Both Yui and Tsunade said that she tried to kill him. The way that Tsunade said it made it sound like it was a common thing." _

"_Be quiet, they're at their destination," Sentaro said, dispelling the conversation. And true to his words, they were standing in what looked to be a large office._

"Uncle Naruto, who did you want me to meet?" Yui asked, looking around the room. A blond haired young man with sparkling blue eyes and three whisker-like scars on each cheek grinned. "Well, he's the son of a very good friend of mine. Do you remember Gaara?"

Yui nodded, he remembered the older red haired man, he was kind even if he didn't show it often. "Well, he's sent his son here for a while. Kai, you can come in now."

The door off to the side opened and a small red-haired boy stepped into the room, golden eyes looking around the room. "Who are you?" he asked, looking at Yui and Sakura.

"Kai, this is Sakura Uchiha and Yui Uchiha. They're good friends of your father and I and I thought that it would be nice for you to meet someone of your own age," Naruto said, gently guiding/shoving the boy forward. The boy stumbled slightly and turned back to the grinning blond, glaring.

Yui took the time to study the newcomer, he had never seen anyone like him before. His skin was very tanned and his eyes and hair were both an unusual color.



He smiled at the boy, "I'm Yui. Do you like ice-cream?"

"Kai, and what's ice-cream?"

Yui looked at him in disbelief and started telling him at a rapid pace all about the wonderful substance known as ice-cream.

* * *

The scene disappeared and the group was once again standing on the pathway under the red and blue sky.

"That…was odd," Isshin said as they all looked around. They didn't seem to have moved from the spot that the memory first began from.

"I guess this is what she meant by not having to go and look for his memories," Masaki said thoughtfully.

"Let's go," Rangiku said, continuing down the path.

There was silence, everyone mulling over what they had seen. Before too long, there was another white flash.

* * *

Snow.



It was snowing.

Big, white flakes drifted down from the sky while a group of four dressed in colorful kimonos walked through the snow. Sakura Uchiha was dressed in a beautiful white kimono that faded into a deep pink at the bottom, tied with a pale sliver obi, matching the sakura petals that drifted along the bottom. The thing that drew their attention however was her noticeable bulge around the stomach area that signified that Yui was going to be an elder brother.

Beside her was a tall man with the same ebony hair and dark black eyes dressed in a navy kimono and black hakama. Bouncing ahead of them were Yui and Kai. Yui was in a silvery-gray kimono with an icy-blue obi and Kai was in a crimson red one with a golden obi.

"Haha! Momma, can we get some ice-cream?" Yui asked, spinning around and giving his mother the best puppy-eyed expression he could manage. Beside him, Kai was mimicking the expression. Sakura looked at them and laughed, "Well, I don't know, what do you think Sasuke?"

The ebony haired man, Sasuke looked down at the two boys, a small smile on his face, "I don't see why not," he allowed. The two boys ran up and threw their arms around his waist, thanking him.

There was a whistling sound in the air and the two boys were shoved to the ground, Sasuke on top of them. Sakura quickly gathered up the boys and pulled them away, Sasuke looking around for the ones who would dare attack his family.

From the shadows six oddly dressed warriors melted into existence. The full moon gave plenty of light to the horror that was unfolding. Sakura, even in her pregnant state, pushed the two boys behind herself and pulled out a kunai.

The attackers saw this and laughed, "What does she think she can do against us? She can barely walk right!" one of them laughed. The others joined in, keeping the vast majority of their attention on Sasuke.

"Sakura, take the boys and run," Sasuke said, drawing his sword. He had simply refused to leave the house without it.

"But-"

"Go, NOW!" he shouted as they attacked him. Hesitating a moment longer, she stowed the kunai and grabbed onto both of the boys, pulling them along behind her. They weren't sure how long they ran for, but the next thing they knew, they were being shoved behind a dumpster.

"Stay here," Sakura said, "I'm going to go help your father."

"Mama, wait!" Yui shouted, starting to go after her only for Kai to grab onto him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kai demanded, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Never mind that!" Yui shouted angrily, "Mama needs my help! Go get Uncle Naruto, he'll know what to do!" With that, he ran as fast as he could back through the empty streets. Considering that he was only about six, not to mention out of breath from the first run, it took him a bit longer than he would have liked.

When he got there, he hid behind the corner of a building and watched. His father danced through the other Shinobi, cutting into them as he passed them. His mother was doing the best that she could in her state, calling on all the jutsu she could think of and launching them at the Shinobi.

He watched in a state of awe for a short time as the battle raged on, however, it was eight to two, and Sakura was truly in no condition to fight. Therefore, it wasn't long before one of the Shinobi managed to get in a hit, cutting deeply into her calf muscles.

She went down with a cry of pain, one hand automatically glowing green in attempts to heal herself.



"SAKURA, NO!" Sasuke yelled as he deflected a blow aimed at his head. He moved quickly, coming to stand beside her, sword held ready to either attack of defend. The Nin attacked all at once, bearing down on them.

Yui wasn't aware that he was moving, all he knew is that one second he was standing at the corner of the building, the next he was drenched in blood.

Wide, pale blue-gray eyes stared in shock as his father came to stand behind him, the bodies of the three Shinobi falling to the ground just in front of him. He slowly turned his head to see that his father was similarly coated in blood, though this was partly his own.

"D-Daddy?" Yui whispered, horrified. His father cracked a grin at him, holding his side, "Heh, looks like I messed up a little on the landing," he joked. Now Yui knew something was wrong, his father never joked like that. Ever.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura asked, jumping back to avoid another attack. Without thinking, she sent another jutsu, a fire type, at the remaining four. She turned and ran to her husband, her hands glowing green. Pushing aside his hand, she began to heal the nasty gash on his side.

Yui just sat there, horrified. He had never seen so much blood before. The sick, coppery sent was all over the ground, clinging to his lungs and nose. The remaining Shinobi ignored the shell-shocked child for the time being. Without pause, they attacked. Sasuke spun around, knocking his wife to the side as their weapons stabbed into him.

"Sasuke, NO!" Sakura shouted.

Yui's already wide eyes went even wider. He started to shake as crystalline tears dripped down his face and mixed with the crimson blood. With a last smile for his wife, he fell sideways into the snow, his vision slowly fading.



"You…YOU BASTARDS!" Sakura yelled, recklessly charging at the remaining Shinobi, her husbands'' sword in her hands. Nonchalantly, one of the Shinobi ran her through, she let out a piercing cry as her stomach was pierced. The Shinobi used one of his booted feet to shove her off his blade. Sakura fell bonelessly to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Whether it was from pain or the loss of her unborn child, nobody knew.

Seconds later, shouting was heard, coming closer with every second. The remaining three Shinobi swore and fled, white-and-black figures chasing them. The blond haired man from earlier dropped into the snow with Kai on his back. Immediately Kai let go of Naruto's shoulders and ran to his best friend.

Gripping his shoulders, Kai franticly shook Yui. It took him a second to notice it, but when he did, he shoved it to the back of his mind to tell Naruto about later. Yui's eyes had gone blood-red with one swirling comma mark in each eye.

"Yui, _Yui_! _YUI_!" Kai yelled, "Damn it! Yui, come on, snap out of it," The seven year old pleaded. Slowly, Yui blinked, "Kai?"

Relieved, Kai nodded.

"Kai…Everything's' all red….why is the snow red….? Mama and Daddy are all red too…" He hiccupped and started to shake. With a lurch, he threw himself forward into his friend, sobs wracking his small body. Not really knowing what to do, Kai held onto him, some small, distant part of him knowing that he was all that Yui had left.

* * *

The world flashed white once again, but this time, instead of going back to the pathway, they found themselves standing in a white hospital room. Yui was lying there, staring blankly up at the ceiling.



"Yui, are you awake?" Kai asked from the doorway. He walked forward, passing right through the watchers. They watched as the small red-haired boy walked right up to the side of the bed. Yui still hadn't moved, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Yui, come on, please answer me," Kai begged, shaking one shoulder. Slowly, Yui turned his head, blank blue-gray eyes locked onto terrified golden ones. "Kai, what are you doing here?" Yui asked, his voice hoarse with lack of use and thirst.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'? I'm here to see you, of course," Kai said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Yui looked at him for a second longer and then sighed. He tried to sit up, and Kai, seeing what he was doing, helped him.

"Hey, now that you're up, do you want to go get some ice-cream?" Kai asked hopefully. Something flashed in his eyes, something Kai couldn't recognize.

"No."

"What? But I thought you-"

"Kai, I said 'no'!" Yui yelled. As shocked as Kai was, because Yui never yelled, he was also relieved because it was more emotion than he had shown for a long time.

"Ok, ok, no ice-cream. No need to bite my head off, geez," Kai said, pouting jokingly, "Now that you're awake, we can go. Oh, and Sakura-san is going to be awake. Tsunade-baa-chan said that she might have to stay here for a while though."

"Mama's…going to be ok?"

"Yeah, she's going to be fine," Kai said reassuringly. A frown crossed Yui's face, "It's my fault…"

"What?"

"It's my fault that she got hurt, my fault that Daddy died…" Crystalline tears dropped down his face, falling onto tightly clenched hands.

Off to the side, Kai sat helplessly for a moment before climbing up on the bed and wrapping his arms around his best friend, no…his brother.

"It's ok, it's going to be ok…" Kai said.

And the watchers' world faded into white once again.

* * *

For a long time, nobody moved, nobody said anything. Even Yumichika could say nothing. Masaki, Rangiku and Kiyone were openly crying. Isshin wrapped his arms around his wife, his own eyes wet. Sentaro copied him, only wrapping his arms around Kiyone. Rangiku dropped to the ground.

"Why…why did that have to happen to him?" Kiyone demanded, pounding on Sentaro's chest, "He's such a kind person, why did that have to happen to him?" Sentaro sighed, his heart feeling heaver than it should, "I don't know Kiyone, I don't know."

"We…we should keep going," Ichigo said, "I want to talk to him…he doesn't just get to give up."

"You're right, Ichigo-kun," Masaki said, wiping her eyes, "I have something I want to say to him as well."

"Did any of you notice it?" Yumichika asked suddenly.

"Notice what?" Rangiku asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"His eyes, when he saw his parents get attacked, they turned a blood-red, with one black comma mark in each eye," Yumichika looked at them, "Do you know anything about that?"

Yui's three students shook their heads, "No, he never mentioned anything like that," Sentaro said, his arms still around Kiyone.

"That doesn't matter right now," Captain Ukitake said, "What matters now is getting through this. I pray that the rest of his memories aren't as bad as that."

With that, they continued on, silence reigning throughout the group. A short time later, the well-known white light erased the decaying world and replaced it with a clean hospital room.

* * *

In the hospital bed lie a pink-haired woman, her hair spread out around her like a halo. Her jade-green eyes stared blankly ahead. She was propped up on several pillows, an IV stuck in her arm. Beside her bed, Yui and Kai looked on.

"Mama, talk to me," Yui begged, "Please?"

Sakura stared blankly ahead, not taking notice of the presence of her son.

"Mama, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for Daddy to get killed, or for you to get hurt," Yui sobbed.



"Your fault…It's all...your fault," Sakura murmured, Yui's head shot up and he looked at her. Her eyes…there was something unnerving in her eyes. Sakura sat up and looked at him with frightening intensity.

"He died…because of you," she murmured. Her hand shot out and clamped around his neck. She squeezed slowly, ignoring the gurgling sounds Yui was making. His hands weakly came up to try to pry her hands off of him.

Kai stood frozen for half a second before thin tendrils of sand snaked up around her arm. "Help! Someone, HELP! DAMN IT, SHE'S TRYING TO KILL HIM!" Kai yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping that someone could hear him. Just as Yui was starting to see spots before his eyes, the door slammed open and admitted Naruto, Tsunade and a beautiful black haired girl with white eyes.

Within seconds, Naruto had separated Sakura and Yui, the latter falling to the floor in a heap and the former had her arm twisted around against her back. Mindlessly, he scrambled backward, his eyes uncomprehending why his mother would try to kill him. The new lady kneeled in front of him, a gentle smile on her face. Saying nothing, because what could one really say in this situation, she held a glowing green hand to his neck where she had grabbed him.

"Damn it Sakura!" Naruto spat angrily, "What the Hell do you think you're doing?"

"It's his fault! He's the reason that Sasuke-kun is dead, why I lost my child!" She yelled, trying to break free of his grasp. Yui choked on a sob. Without a word, the new lady drew him into a hug, picking him up and carrying him from the room, Kai following them closely.

The scene faded from view, returning them back to the depressing world of Yui's soul.

* * *

"My God," Captain Ukitake said weakly, "What the Hell was that woman thinking?"



"Nothing much from the looks of it," Ichigo said, anger building in him. The girls were right behind him in anger. Their maternal instincts were screaming at them with untold fury. They were, at the moment, more than willing to tear this Sakura Uchiha into very small pieces and feed what's left of her to the hollows.

"That-that-that-_that damn bitch!_" Kiyone hissed, barely able to form a coherent sentence.

"She better not show up anywhere _near_ Soul Society," Rangiku hissed, furry radiating from her frame. It was a good thing that Yui had taught her to control her Empathic abilities, otherwise…it really wouldn't be pretty.

"I hope she does show up," Masaki said coldly, surprising everyone, "I would like to have some… _words_ with her."

Isshin gulped, he had never seen his wife so angry and right now….she was scary. Really scary. He would rather tangle with several Espada then stand in her way right now.

"We can discuss ways to kill Pinky later," Yumichika said, his voice tight with barely contained fury, "At the moment we have other things to worry about, like finding Yui."

"He's right," Isshin said, "Let's keep going."

For a while longer, they walked. Each one was lost in their thoughts. They mostly centered around Yui and his mother. Most of them could not understand how a mother could try to kill their own child like that. It just didn't seem possible. If that was what his life was like, no wonder he was in the fourth division.

And then the white flash returned.

* * *

It was spring. That was the first thing that they noticed. They easily recognized Kai and Yui, the former dragging the latter to what looked to be an ice-cream shop.

"Come on, Yui! It's finally spring, we've _got_ to get some ice-cream now!" Kai said, dragging his best friend by the hand. "Kai, I can walk on my own!" Yui protested, stumbling along behind his red-haired friend. Kai shoved open the door to the ice-cream shop and ran right into one of the oddest looking people he had ever seen.

"Owe!" he yelped, falling backward and knocking Yui to the ground, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

The lady raised an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you watch where you're going?" she asked. "Kai, yell at whoever that is after you get off of me. You're heavy!" Yui said from underneath Kai.

"Aw, Yoruichi-chan, who are are your new friends?" someone from behind the lady said. Yui took this chance to look closer at the lady Kai had bumped into. She had short purple hair, dark skin and golden eyes. She was dressed in a simple purple shirt with a black vest over it and loose black pants with sandals on her feet.

"Can it, Kisuki," the lady, Yoruichi, said. Kisuki pushed past Yoruichi and looked at the two boys, "Aww…how cute! Shouldn't kids like yourself be in school?"

"It's summer brake right now," Yui said, "You aren't from around here, are you?"

"Nope, just got here!" The man replied cheerfully.

_The visitors watched in amusement. "So that's how they met. From the looks of it, it was just after they left Soul Society," Captain Ukitake said. _

"_I didn't know they liked ice-cream," Isshin mused._

"_Gah, focus on the memory," Ichigo said, "We can worry about stuff like that latter." _

They had introduced themselves and Kisuki bought the two of them ice-cream, in exchange for showing them around Konoha. The boys agreed and soon they were happily munching away on ice-cream cones while dragging the two adults around the town.

"And that's the hospital. Mama's staying there right now, but she'll be getting out soon," Yui said, pointing at the tall building that served as Konoha General Hospital.

"She's in the hospital?" Kisuki asked, "Why is she there?"

"Kisuki, don't be so nosey," Yoruichi snapped, smacking him on the back of the head. She turned to Yui, "You don't have to answer that, he's just being too nosey for his own well-being."

Yui smiled and nodded.

Their tour eventually led them to the apartment building where Kai and Yui were staying. Naruto had gotten them an apartment together until Sakura got out of the hospital again. It was a fairly large apartment with four bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen/living room.

"So, you two are staying here on your own?" Yoruichi asked, looking around at the slightly messy apartment, "What about your father?"

"Daddy's dead," Yui said softly. Kai shrugged, "I don't know, haven't seen him in a while. I was sent here last year because of the war."

"War?" Kisuki asked, "What war? I wasn't aware that there was a war going on around here."

"Just what kind of idiot are you?" Kai demanded, "The war with Oto, duh. Everyone knows about that. You must have been out of contact with people for a long time to not know that."

"Kai, be nice!" Yui said, hitting him on the head, "The war with Oto has been going on for the last year," he explained for the benefit of the two adults. He looked out the window, the sun was setting, "Where are you staying?" he asked.

Both of the adults blinked. "Heh, uh, funny you should mention that….we haven't got a place to stay at the moment," Kisuki admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously. Yoruichi didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow as if daring the boys to comment.

Yui tilted his head and looked at them, then at Kai. Kai looked at his friend, at the two, then back at Yui.

"No. I know what you're thinking and I say 'no'." Kai said, shaking his head and crossing his arms for emphasis.

"But Kai," Yui began, only to be cut off by Kai who said, "What part of 'no' did you miss? We don't even know these people! For all we know, they could be perverts!"

"Hey now, I'm not a pervert!" Kisuki said but was ignored by the two boys.

"But _Kai_,"

"No. No no no no. And I say again, no. Don't think I've forgotten the last time I let you take in strays...I had to get _stitches_, remember?"

"But Kai, they're different from the squirrel, and it was only two! And to be fair, you shouldn't' have picked it up like that…"

"No."

"It's my apartment."

"We share it, dumbass," Kai sighed, inwardly groaning. He knew it was useless to argue, when his friend got his sights set on something, he got it one way or another. It was more out of habit that he argued than anything else.

"Fine…but you're explaining it to Uncle Naruto," he said, stalking off to their room and slamming the door.

Yui grinned and turned to the two amused spectators, "If you want, you can stay here for a while. We don't have anyone else here, and the apartment building is pretty empty."

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Yoruichi said, considering it, she turned to Kisuki, "What do you think?"

"Well, we just can't leave two small children on their own like this! What kinds of adults would we be if we did that?" He said. Yui smiled and dragged them off to the end of the hallway, saying, "Great, you can stay in these rooms. There's not a lot in them, but they do have beds. Anyway, I'm going to see if there's any rice from last night."

And with that, the apartments' newest residents watched as one of their small landlords ran off to the kitchen to presumably look for dinner.

* * *

And that's the end of chapter 23.



Up earlier than normal, but I'm stuck at the computer copying old vinyl records that my parents own to the computer, so I don't have a lot to do other than listen to mostly bad music. -.-;;;;

And some of it's really bad…

Therefore, I write to maintain what little amount of sanity that I have left.

Questions?

Comments?

Review.


	24. Will of Fire Burns You: Children of War

Thank You to my reviewers. Even the ones who didn't think Sakura would break down in quite that manner.

Bleach is not mine, it is Tite Kubo's.

Chapter 24: Will of Fire Burns You: Part 3: Dawn of War

They were once again in Yui's memories. This time, he was happy, very happy. The sakura blossoms were in full bloom, the sun was shining and everything was going well. Kai was being dragged by Yui with Yoruichi and Kisuki following behind at a calmer pace.

"Come on! Today is the day that Kaa-chan gets out of the Hospital!" Yui yelled behind him, doubling back and trying to push Yoruichi to get her to go faster. She laughed lightly as he forced her to go faster.

"We're going, we're going…" she laughed. An odd gleam lit her golden eyes, "Hey, do you want to get there really fast?"

"What do you mean…?" Yui asked cautiously. After three months with the woman, he knew that look potentially meant trouble.

Yoruichi winked at him, easily picking him up like a sack of potatoes. "This is a little trick from back home called 'Shunpo'," she said. And in a second, she blurred and vanished from view. Rooftops blurred underfoot and they passed other Shinobi who were on their way to or from various missions.

They touched down right in front of the hospital, Kisuki right behind them with Kai on his shoulder.

"Whoa! That was so cool!" Kai exclaimed, "Can you teach us?" he asked, begging. Kisuki looked at the two of them, "We'll see, it's really hard to master," he said at last.



"Come on," Yui said, running to the Hospital doors. He pulled them open and ran inside, pausing only to get his mother's room number. The others followed at a more sedate pace.

He ran down the halls and threw open the door to his mothers room, shouting "Kaa-chan, Kaa-chan!" Running up to the side of the bed, he asked, "Kaa-chan, are you better now?"

"I think you have the wrong room, I don't have any children," Sakura said after a moment.

"Wha?" Yui asked, confusion on his face.

"Excuse me, is he yours?" Sakura asked as Yoruichi stepped into the room, "He seems to think that I'm his mother for some reason."

Yoruichi shot a glance at Yui who was still standing there, stunned. "What? Kaa-chan, you have to recognize me!" he yelled, tugging on her arm. Irritated, Sakura pulled her arm out of his grasp, "Look kid, I told you that I wasn't your mother. I don't have any clue as to who you are, so I can't help you find her either, why don't you go ask one of the nurses around here and maybe they can help you."

Yui stood there, stunned for a second before running out of the room, tears starting to leak from his eyes. He didn't know where he was running to, all he knew was that the entire situation was wrong. His mother had to recognize him! She just had to…

His mad dash from the Hospital took him to Konoha park, just down the street from the hospital. It was there that the others found him a short while later. Without saying anything, Yoruichi drew him into a hug. He wrapped his slim arms around her and cried, "I-it's n-n-not f-fair!" he sobbed, "S-she h-ha-has to r-re-recognize me!"

Yoruichi didn't know what to say, what could you say to someone when something like this happened anyway? Kisuki and Kai sat on either side of him, offering silent support.



A short while later, Naruto showed up. He had heard about what had happened from the guards that he had posted around Sakura for her own protection.

"Well, it seems as though her mind has snapped back to just before her and your father were married," Naruto explained, "She…she may never remember you. Sometimes, when traumatic things like this happen, the mind can't take it and so to protect itself, it erases that event from memory. Tsunade-baa-chan said that instead of erasing just that night, her mind actually erased everything that has happened for the last six years."

The four of them listened in silence, Yui was sitting on Youruichi's lap, his eyes red from crying though there were no more tears coming from his eyes. "So…she won't ever remember me?" he asked at last, "She won't ever remember Tou-san?"

Naruto froze, then sighed, "Not quite, she thinks that he's gone on a long-term mission with no specified time limit. She…doesn't know that he's dead. We…didn't think that it would be wise to tell her right now."

"Oh," was the soft reply.

"Yui, Hinata and I are working as hard as we can to get the Counsel to let us adopt you, but it may take a while. Because your mother is technically alive, there are legal issues that have to be cleared first, and the Counsel is reluctant to consider it in case she ever does regain her memories."

"He'll stay with us then, we can register as their legal guardians, can't we?" Youruichi asked, surprising both Naruto and Kisuki. "What? You thought I was going to kick him out of the apartment? It's his first anyway," Yoruichi said. It was true, the legal documents stated that the apartment belonged to Yui and Kai, paid for by the Uchiha account.

"Uh, what 'we' and do you mean the both of them?" Kisuki asked, "Not that I have a problem with it," he added hurriedly, seeing the deadly glint in her golden eyes, "but isn't it a little sudden?"



"Yeah? So? They need guardians, and we planned on staying here for a while," Yoruichi said, as though explaining a simple concept to a slow child, "I'm not going to leave two young children on their own," she glared at him, sending him a silent 'and you are going to go along with this because I will hurt you if you don't'.

Kisuki wisely didn't say anything. He knew better then to get between Yoruichi and her maternal instincts… or any women's maternal instincts for that matter.

"…Ok then, I'll have the paperwork ready for you to sign tomorrow morning," Naruto said, smiling happily.

"So, does this mean that I have to call a pervert like you 'Tou-san'?" Kai asked, crossing his arms, "'Cause it's not going to happen. No way am I going to have a pervert for a father."

"Mou, Kai-chan, you wound me…"Kisuki said, dramatically holding his hands over his heart, "Yoruichi! Kai-chibi is being mean to me!"

"Don't call me 'Chibi'" Kai snarled. Yoruichi laughed and said, "So? He's right, you are a pervert."

A small smile found itself on Yui's face as he listened to the three of them interact, feeling that maybe not everything was so bad after all.

+-+-+

The memory disappeared into a white flash that became the inside of Yui's mind once more. For a long time, nobody spoke. "He always seems to get the short end of the stick, doesn't he?" Kiyone said at last, "No matter what, he always seems to be the one that the universe likes to laugh at the most. It's like Karma decided she didn't like him or something."

Nobody could say anything to that. Finally, Captain Ukitake laughed, surprising everyone else.

"What's so funny?" Ichigo demanded.

"Sorry, it's just…I haven't seen Yoruichi do something like that for a long time," he said, suppressing his laughter, "It's not often that she allows her maternal instincts to surface. No wonder she was so reluctant to leave the room if she cares this much for them. She always did have a soft spot for children."

"Huh?" Ichigo said, "That crazy bitch? No way," he said denying it.

"Ichigo, watch your language. And Captain Ukitake is right, no woman likes to see a child in pain. It's a natural response," Masaki said.

The scenery around them seemed to be getting…darker the farther they went in, as though night were coming. But that was impossible, seeing as there was no sun here…wasn't there?

+-+-+

After the next white flash, they found themselves standing on freshly fallen snow. It was lightly snowing as the boys, who looked to be about eight, waited by the massive gates of Konoha. Their guardians stood beside them, looking ahead.

Seconds later, the massive gates opened and a procession of almost a hundred ragged people shuffled through the gates. One who automatically caught Yui's eye was the form of a slight wrath of a boy. He had tattered clothes, his worn boots barely staying on his feet, the thin shirt and tattered pants he wore did nothing to protect him from the cold. What was most surprising was perhaps his hair which was a beautiful light blue. It hung longish and ragged as the rest of him. His eyes were dull, almost dead and a few shades lighter than his hair.

_Rangiku inhaled sharply before saying "Good God! That's Yuri! That has to be him." The others looked close and recognized the boy as a much younger version of the young man they all knew to some degree._



For a brief moment, their eyes met and something flashed between them, a kind of recognition between two people who had suffered great losses. However, there was something else there…something that they couldn't name. For a brief moment, Yuri's eyes turned a molten, lime green with slit-pupils. Yui inhaled sharply and looked around for anyone else who may have seen it. Thankfully, he seemed to have been the only one.

The group stopped outside the Hokage tower where Naruto waited, directing people to families and homes where they would stay. Finally, it was that odd boy's turn. Before Naruto could say anything, Yui spoke up, "Uncle Naruto, can he stay with us?"

+-+-+\

Later that day, Yuri was setting his meager things in Yui's room where a hastily bought bed with new sheets lay. Kai had solidly refused to let the new kid sleep in his room so Yui allowed him to stay in his room.

"Why?" The boy asked, speaking for the first time.

"Why what?" Yui responded, looking up from his manga.

"Why did you volunteer to take me in like this? I'm just an orphan brat, so why would you care?"

Yui tilted his head as he thought, why did he speak up? "Well…you're like us." He said at last, as though that would explain everything.

Yuri gave him a Look.

"What I mean is, you don't have any parents either. And you kinda reminded me of myself after Tou-san died, when Kaa-chan was in the ICU."

"What about the other two, aren't they your parents?" Yuri asked, curious despite himself.

"Naw, their just some people that we met at the ice-cream shop. They didn't have anywhere to stay, so I said that they could stay here," Yui said, smiling. Yuri frowned, "Is this a habit of yours?" he asked irritably.

"Is what a habit of mine?"

"Picking up strays."

"Yes it is," Kai said from the door, "Come on, Ero-ji is trying to cook something again."

"What!" Yui yelped and shot out of the room just as black smoke filtered down the hallway.

"Welcome. Rules of the house: Stay away from Yoruichi's milk. Kisuki-ero-ji is not allowed anywhere near any kind of cooking appliance for safety reasons. Try to make sure your clothes get to the washer within three days of their removal or Yui gets ticked off. Other chores are on a rotating basis, tonight you can help me with the dishes. Don't go into Kisuki's room or you may not come out in one piece. Yoruichi's room is also off limits if only because it's a disaster zone and Yui seems to be the only one who can go in and out unharmed. Oh, be up by seven-thirty or Yoruichi will come and get you, and for the record, she isn't nice about it," Kai said, listing the rules of the house as Yui returned from the kitchen. He had left Yoruichi to chew Kisuki out for almost burning down the apartment, again.

"Any questions?" Kai asked. Yuri looked at the two of them and said, "Is it always like this?"

"Pretty much, yeah. On the other hand, we're never board," Kai said, shrugging.



"You guys are insane and I'm going to bed," Yuri announced, stripping off his ragged, thin shirt and crawling into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

+-+-+\

Instead of going back to his mindscape, the white flash instead reviled another memory. The three boys were about ten, each wearing what they now knew to be the Konoha headband with an older woman standing behind them dressed in a tan trench coat, orange miniskirt, fishnet bodysuit and little else.

"And your first mission is going to be to deliver a scroll to the next town over," Naruto said, handing over the scroll. Kai grinned and cheered at not having to weed any more gardens, Yuri's lips twitched in a small smile and Yui simply smiled softly and nodded.

"Alright brats, meet me by the gates in half an hour," Anko, their sensei, said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

In seconds the boys were out the door and running across the roofs to their apartment. Yoruichi was lounging on the couch in her usual lack of anything resembling clothes when the boys trooped through the door.

"What the hell's got the three of you so worked up?" She asked, watching them drag their stuff to the kitchen table and pack their bags.

"We have a mission, Neko-nee," Kai said, shoving an extra shirt into his bag. The boys had all found out about Yoruichi's…special technique on the third day of Yuri's stay. She had thought it would be a wonderful surprise (for her), and the boys weren't able to look her in the eyes for days. Since then, she had taken to wearing as little as she could get away with. After two years, the boys were used to it and it didn't bother them anymore. Now they just turned around and told her to get some damn clothes on.

"Don't forget your weapons," Yoruichi said, "I don't care if it's just a D-ranked mission, things change. Make sure their not your training ones, either."



Yui rolled his eyes, "We know, we have the right ones. Gee, you'd think that we don't know anything about fighting with the way you constantly remind us about everything," he muttered. Once Yoruichi had heard about the boys going to Ninja academe, she had taken it upon herself to give her two little landlords all the training they could handle. This extended to Yuri when he came along. Needless to say, they were far stronger than the rest of their classmates, thus why they had graduated earlier, before the graduation age was lowered.

Anko was waiting for them at the gates, pack slung easily over her shoulder. As soon as they arrived, they headed though the gates.

It was a simple mission, they got there in one piece, delivered the scroll and left the small town. It was on the way back that things went south.

They were almost half way back when they were surrounded by a group of five Oto Chunin. Growling, Anko readied her Kunai as the boys got their own weapons, given to them upon graduation by Kisuki himself.

Yui unsheathed his twin ninjaken from their sheathes that crossed his back in an 'X' shape. The steal seemed to glow in the afternoon light.

Kai took out his kusagama, the excess chain dangeling between the sickle blade at one end and the dagger-like blade at the other.

Yuri released his naginata from its' holster on his back, settling into a defensive stance.

The Chunin were all about fifteen, and cocky. There was no way that they could lose to a bunch of brats, even if they were with a Jonin. That proved to be their mistake. The battle was quick, for all their cockiness, they weren't all that good. They were on the ground in seconds, the boys only suffering from minor wounds. The boys turned to watch Anko finish off her opponents, not bothering to tie up their opponents. To their knowledge, they were far too injured to be a threat.



However, they were mistaken. They still had enough strength for one last charge. The three of them shot a look at each other. As one, they charged the three little twerps.

Easily hearing them, the boys spun around as reflexes drilled into them by one sadistic teacher came to the fore. Without thinking, they lashed out as the three enemy Chunin got within range. 

Kai's went down with the sickle blade stuck in his forehead.

Yuri's was nearly beheaded by the naginata blade.

Yui's was stabbed through the heart.

Numb with the horror of what they just did, they backed away from the now-lifeless bodies of the Shinobi. Yui's ninjaken dropped lifelessly from his hands as he registered what he just did. Kai sat down hard, scrambling away on all fours from the dead body. Yuri…closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to control his shaking body. Unlike the other two, he was far more acquainted with death seeing as he had dealt with it daily before he had come to Konoha. However, it was his first time killing someone.

Anko had finished with her opponents and took in the scene before her. She didn't say anything for a time, not knowing what she could say. However, staying here would do them no good. The boys followed her numbly, not even registering the fact that they had passed through the Konoha gates until Yoruichi and Kisuki showed up at the Hokage's office and took them home.

It was later that night when it happened. Yui was the first to awaken, panting from his nightmare. He could only remember flashes of it though, and for that he was grateful. Yuri woke up next, calmer than Yui though no less shaken. While Yui focused on calming his breathing, Kai came in, looking as bad as Yui.

"Ano…Yuri?" Yui asked, having calmed his heart down to something resembling a normal pace.

"Yeah?"

"Can…can we sleep over there with you?" he asked nervously, his voice small. Yuri looked at the two of them for a moment before nodding. Gratefully, Yui clamored into Yuri's bed, and snuggled down into the blankets. Kai shot a glare off to the side, saying "Don't think this makes me weak or anything, I can still kick your ass in training." With that said, he slipped under the covers as well, closest to the wall. "I wouldn't dream of it….chibi-suna-ryu," Yuri said, smirking as Kai growled at him.

"Maa…do we have to fight?" Yui asked, poking Yuri in the ribs the reaching over him to do the same to Kai, "It's late and I want some sleep," he said, yawning at the end of his sentence. With that the three brothers fell asleep. When they would wake up in the morning, it would be to find that they had somehow gotten tangled up in not only the blankets, but each other as well and Yoruichi had taken pictures, several.

+-+-+\

This time, they did find themselves back in Yui's mindscape.

Kiyone's legs gave out and she slumped to the ground, somewhere between stunned and horrified. She wasn't the only one. The rest of them were in varying states of the same, even Yumichika. There was no way that a child that young should have to kill someone, there was no way that a child should have to kill period. It simply wasn't right.

But the truth of it was there before them.

By the age of ten, Yui Uchiha had killed.

+-+-+\



Sorry for the cliffhanger.

Actually…no, I'm not…((Smiles evilly))

I'm being really mean to Yui-chan, aren't I? Sorry to say, it gets worse before it gets better, fair warning for you now.


	25. Will Of Fire Burns You: Liminality

* * *

Thank you for all of your reviews!

Liminality: A state between two things. Neither one thing or another.

Chapter 25: Will of Fire Burns You: part 4: Liminality

* * *

They were once again standing in the Hokage's office. They were a little older now, about thirteen. Each of them looked…harder. It was a look that both Captain Ukitake and Isshin recognized, the look of one who had been fighting too long, seen too much. To find it on children so young tore their hearts. Yumichika recognized it as well, it was the look that some of his friends from the division wore when they thought that there was nobody to see them.

"Alright, do you all accept this mission?" Naruto asked, oddly formal. His face was a blank mask, hiding his thoughts.

"We understand. We will be able to complete the mission," Yuri said.

"Then go," Naruto said, his voice carrying an undertone of sorrow, "And be careful, Yoruichi will kill me if you don't come back," he said, only half joking.

They were racing through the trees at speeds that far outstripped Sentaro and Kiyone. It was late evening, but they showed no signs of stopping, or even slowing down. It was as though they didn't need much light to see.

Suddenly they came to a stop, crouching silently on the branches like wraths. Yui raised his hand and made several odd motions that meant…something to the others. Soundlessly, they dropped the fifty or more feet to the ground, landing effortlessly on the leafy ground.



* * *

Like shadows, they ghosted along the ground, approaching their target. A glance, a nod; the three of them split up, each going to a different part of the complex.

The complex itself was situated against a rock wall, with three high walls made of stone and steel. Getting into the place was no problem, after all, Yoruichi had taken it upon herself to train them until they dropped, often literally.

Yui peaked over the edge of the wall, watching the sentries stalk silently past him. Once they had passed, he leaped over the short wall and raced over the top of the wall to drop silently to the ground between two windowless buildings. Inwardly he was shaking his head at the guards he saw outside of his hiding place. They really weren't doing a good job guarding…

He pulled out multiple slips of extra-strength exploding tags and got to work setting them every where he could. He made his way stealthily through the complex as fast as he could, however, it didn't seem as though he was quiet enough.

He was placing the last of the tags when a voice behind him made him jump and spin, a kunai appearing automatically in his hand.

"Heh, so the brat thinks that he can challenge me, does he?" the man, and that's all that he could make out about the figure, laughed. His form blurred and then Yui felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, the world going back.

* * *

"...i?"

"…ui?"

"Yui?"

Bleary blue-gray eyes opened, the darkness reseeding from his vision. He was greeted with his two brother's faces hovering over his own. That was the first thing he noticed, the second was that he was on cold, damp stone.

"Welcome back to the realm of the conscious," Kai quipped.

Yuri shook his head, "As you can see, we got caught. And we have a neighbor," he said, pointing to the cell across from them. There was the distinctive sound of metal clinking together as a figure shifted position in the cell across from the three boys.

The figure moved closer to the bars of the cell and all of those present, including those who were watching his memory, gasped in horror.

The boy that the light reviled didn't look very good. In fact, he looked worse than Yuri when he came to Konoha and that was saying something. Ragged, deep emerald green hair fell in limp oily strands around his face and down his back, cut unevenly at about shoulder-blade length. Sharp and wary dark amber eyes stared out at them beneath the ragged bangs. The clinking of metal drew his attention to his wrists where thick and heavy shackles covered his wrists, with roughly two feet of chain between them. A second set of shackles were around his ankles, this time with about three feet of chain between them. His shirt was ragged, there were holes everywhere and it was a good four inches shorter than it should have been, and he suspected that at one time it had been white. His pants were just as bad, ending at about mid-calf length and as ragged as his shirt. In fact, everything about him was ragged in one way or another.

"Who?"

"He hasn't said. Doesn't seem to like people much," Kai said, sticking his tongue out childishly at the boy. The boy leveled a dark glare at Kai, making him stick out his tongue in retaliation. Yuri snorted, "Real mature, Kai," he muttered, crossing his arms.



Yui sat up fully, wincing at the pain in his head before crawling over to the bars of the cell. His head tilted to the side as he studied the individual sitting across from him. There was something familiar…he had it.

"You're a Jinchuuriki, aren't you?" he asked, silencing the two behind him and causing the boy across from him to jolt in surprise.

"How…did you know?" the boy asked, his voice rough and horse from disuse. Yui smiled, "You have the same feeling as Uncle Naruto," he said, explaining, "He has Kyuubi-ji-chan."

"A Jinchuuriki? Who'd you get stuck with?" Kai asked, settling down beside Yui. The boy frowned and several emotions flickered across his face, finally he said, "Ragnarok, the seven tailed dragon," several more emotions ranging from doubt to confusion to bemusement flickered across his face, "He says 'hi'."

Yui smiled, "So he can hear us then?"

A pause…"Yes."

"As interesting as this conversation is, we should be finding a way to get out of here," Yuri said, crossing his arms and leaning against the bars. Yui's smile turned devious. He reached behind him into his short braid and pulled out several bits of rolled up paper that, when unfolded, turned out to be explosive notes.

"What the Hell! You keep explosive notes in your _hair_?" Kai yelped, staring at his brother. Yuri looked at him, bemusement and shock competing for dominance. Bemusement won.

Yui shrugged, "Well, Neko-nee-chan gave me the idea," he said, sticking one of the tags on the door. Shaking their head, the two of them retreated to the corner farthest away from the door as Yui set the tag and activated it. A sand shield rose around them as the tag detonated. Within seconds Yui was out of his cell and setting a second tag on the door to the mysterious boy's cell.



"Yui, what are you doing?" Kai asked slowly, looking around for other Shinobi. "Getting him out of here," Yui said absently as he placed a second tag on the lock and dragged Kai back into their cell as it went off. The boy stood up, and shuffled out of his cell, fixing Yui with a penetrating stare. Yui smiled, "Do you want to come with us?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"To where?"

"Konoha. You can stay with us, I'm sure that Uncle Naruto will allow it," Yui said, smiling softly, his hand still outstretched. Slowly, hesitantly, the boys' hand reached up and took Yui's.

"Akira. My name is Akira Tenaka," he said, pulling his arms apart, snapping the old and rusted shackles that had bound his arms, leaning down, he gripped the chain tightly in both hands and pulled, snapping that chain as well.

"Nice to meet you. That said, let's get the Hell outta here before we get killed," Kai hissed nervously. Yuri nodded.

The four of them snuck out of the dank cell room, which turned out to be a basement. Within minutes of their escape, they had silently killed the guards and were racing across the rooftops, the exploding tags they had set earlier being detonated as they ran, the automatic timers running out. The night became engulfed in orange and red hellfire and choking smoke. Then they were in the forest, running swiftly through the trees, heading for home.

* * *

"…and that's the end of it, so can we keep him?" Yui pleaded. Akira stood impassively behind the three of them, glaring at the blond man defiantly.

Naruto sighed, standing before him were four boys, three of which he knew. All of them looking like they had seen better days, the fourth one still having his shackles chained to his wrists and ankles. He sighed, looking at the boy, "Damn…you boys really enjoy giving me headaches, don't you?" he said, not expecting an answer, "Fine, he can stay as a refuge of…whatever village he came from."

Kai and Yui high-fived each other, Yuri contented himself with looking smug. The boy, Akira, didn't visibly change expression, though the hardness in his eyes eased a little. Naruto had to stop himself from laughing. The boy had known Yui for all of two days and already the boy didn't want to leave him. Yui certainly had an unusual talent, that was for sure. Within a few minutes, he could make people feel at ease around him, make them relax and tell him their secrets. What was more amazing to Naruto was that the boy didn't seem to realize it, or if he did, then he wasn't saying anything about it.

"Alright, due to lack of space, you're going to be sleeping in my room," Kai said as the four of them entered the small apartment that had just gotten a little smaller. Akira nodded, Kai looked at him and frowned, "You know, I don't plan on using sign-language outside of mission hours, so speak up. We ain't gonna hit you for speaking your mind. That said, there are some house rules that you're going to have to learn…First: Yuri's manga collection is not to be touched without permission. He tends to throw things at you should you touch it otherwise, and he will know. Second, the milk in the fridge belongs to Yoruichi-nee-chan; that is also off the list of 'touchable items'. Kisuki-ji is never to be allowed to cook. Ever. We've had ANBU here demanding to know why exactly we were trying to poison the village with toxic smoke that originated from his cooking," Kai smirked at Akira's incredulous expression, "No, we're not joking. Uncle Kakashi commandeered Kisuki-ji's stew and used it on his next mission to poison an Oto outpost. It worked, made them so sick that half of 'em died right away and the other half couldn't defend themselves."

"You're joking," Akira said, "There is no way that someone can screw up stew of all things that badly."

"Kisuki-ji can. And has. Yui handles most of the cooking around here for that reason," Yuri said, flipping the page of one of his manga. "Next rule: Don't leave your stuff lying around. Yui will throw it out after two days. If he doesn't use it as target practice for his fire jutsu. Yoruichi-nee's room is off limits, period. There are things in there that shouldn't be alive that move under their own power, we haven't figured out how yet. It's safer just to stay out."

Now, Yui took over with the rules, "Yoruichi-nee…doesn't like clothes much. Seeing her walking around the apartment either half-naked or fully naked is a normal thing. Just turn around and tell her to put on some clothes. Not that she'll actually do it, but it doesn't hurt to ask."



"She walks around naked?"

"Yeah. She's been doing it for as long as we've known her, so it doesn't really affect us as much, though Yui still can't look at her without turning into a tomato," Kai snickered, poking his brother in the ribs as he turned the afore mentioned tomato red.

"KAI!"

"Well it's true! You know that kind of reaction just encourages her!"

"What encourages who?" Yoruichi asked, coming up behind them in what amounted to underwear.

"Nee-chan! Get some clothes on!" Yui yelped as he turned red and spun back around. Yoruichi laughed and continued into the kitchen.

* * *

"My god," Masaki whispered in shock as the memory ended, "Akira-kun, he…he…" she couldn't continue.

Yumichika swallowed dryly, "I…had wondered where the scars around his wrists came from…but I didn't think…"

"Right. This makes me wonder just what else those boys have gone through," Captain Ukitake said.

Ichigo swallowed dryly, "Well, at the very least I know that I wasn't the only one she liked to annoy…" Ichigo muttered softly. Isshin heard him however and said, "Oh…what was that my son?"

"N-nothing!"

"Let's keep going," Rangiku said, bringing them back to the task at hand.

* * *

After the white flash, they could immediately tell that there was something different about this memory. Yui was racing alone in the trees, his shirt and pants torn in several places and flecked with blood. Behind him, they could hear the crashing and shouts of several others showed that he was not truly alone.

Absently, Yui reached up to his shoulder, gripping it tightly where there was a lot of red, where he had gotten slashed earlier.

Without warning, the branch he had just landed on snapped underneath him, sending him tumbling through the air. That moment of distraction was enough for his followers to catch up to him and press a cloth doused in foul-smelling chemicals against his mouth and nose.

Within seconds, he was out cold.

When he awoke, he wished he was still unconscious. He was lying awkwardly on hard, cold stone flooring, with every part of his body protesting loudly at any kind of movement. With a low groan, he sat up, looking around. It was nothing he didn't expect.

He was sitting in the center of a round stone room, chains dangling from the ceiling, shackles attached to the chains. There were more shackles against the wall, with varying amounts of chain. Set into the wall was a door made of steel bars. Across the floor were dark stains that Yui knew with disturbing clarity were bloodstains. It didn't take him long to put together what this room was used for and when he did, his blood ran cold.

It was an interrogation room.

"Well, I see that you know why you're here," an icy cold voice said from behind him, causing Yui to spin around.

The figure that belonged to the voice was a scarred man with steel gray hair and cold green eyes. One of his scars ran through his eyebrow, crossing over his eye and down the side of his face, pulling the eye itself into a permanent wince. Along his arms were crossing scars, weaving no discernable pattern in his flesh.

Yui swallowed dryly, whatever this man was here for, he was sure that he wasn't going to like it. The man chuckled dryly, raising his hand and snapping his fingers. Two heavily muscled Shinobi, both wearing the Oto headband came in. The nameless man gestured at Yui and wordlessly they picked up the struggling boy and chained him to the shackles that were suspended from the ceiling. The chains were right at the length where he was standing with his arms above his head, unable to lower them at all.

Gathering his courage, he growled defiantly at the interrogator.

"So…you have a spine in you after all, I was beginning to wonder," the man said absently, "No matter, they all talk, in the end. Why don't you save yourself the trouble and tell me what I want to know now? What is Konoha planning to do next?"

Yui said nothing, his mouth firmly clamped.

The man smiled and decked him in the face.

Yui spat out a mixture of blood and saliva and glared at the man. The man, who we will now call Nanashi, kept smirking. "Come now, such a young child like yourself…surely you don't want pain, do you? They must have told you what happens to those who are caught…" Nanashi trailed off, watching the boys' eyes harden with grim determination. Oh, he knew alright. Not that it made a difference, he would get his information, or kill the boy trying.

Yui didn't speak, not one word. He did however, scream until his throat was raw. Nanashi used every trick he could think of for what seemed like hours. Still, Yui would not break. It made Nanashi wonder what had given the boy such an iron will at such a young age. Finally, he left, absently ordering the guards to unlock the shackles.

Yui crumpled to the stone floor, unable to do much more than pant shallowly. He had been put through the ringer, but he was proud of himself, he hadn't said a word. Considering he was black and blue and red all over, that was quite an accomplishment in his book.

He only hoped that his brothers came for him soon, he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up.

* * *

They couldn't believe their eyes. More than one set of knees gave out as they registered what they had just seen.

"My…my god…" Yumichika whispered hoarsely, "Who…would do such a thing to a child?" he questioned out loud.

Masaki was on the ground, tears streaming down her face as she was being held by her husband, a hand over her mouth to try to keep her lunch where it was suppose to be. Rangiku wasn't as lucky and within seconds, her lunch was covering the stone pathway, Captain Ukitake holding back her hair and rubbing her back, looking very much like he wanted to puke himself. Kiyone was clinging onto Sentaro who was rubbing circles on her back, his eyes dark with unshed tears.

"Why…?" She pleaded, "Why didn't he tell us?"

"It…probably wasn't the… easiest… thing for him to talk about," Ichigo said, his voice tight with repressed tears. Masaki wordlessly stood and embraced her son as a solitary tear slid down his face, his entire body tense, nails digging into his palms.

"It makes me wonder…just what else has happened to him…" Yumichika said dryly.

* * *

Before they were truly ready, the white flash came again, without them having moved, dragging them back into his memories.

Not that much time could have passed, but all the same, Yui looked like he had gone through Hell. Half-healed gashes lined his body, his clothes in tatters and barely decent. His arm was twisted and mangled, sitting at an unnatural angle, black and blue coloring his swollen arm. Blood, fresh and dried covered the ground, the only sound in the room was Yui's own harsh panting.

"You child, truly have the 'Will of Fire' that they preach so loudly over there, or perhaps you just don't know when to give up," Nanashi sneered.

Icy blue eyes locked onto Nanashi's form as a low animalistic growl tore through his throat. His mouth twisted into a snarl as Nanashi laughed.

"What? Did you think that your 'friends' would be coming for you? I doubt that they even know where you are, let alone how to get to you," he said, laughing.

"And _that_ would be where you're wrong, bitch," Yoruichi said, causing Nanashi to spin around, drawing kunai. He didn't get that far though, as Yoruichi earned her title as the Goddess of Flash and disappeared from view, only to come up behind him and relieve Nanashi of his head.

"Nee-chan?" Yui choked, his voice raspy with disuse. Yoruichi spun around and within a second was beside him, gathering him carefully into her arms, mindful of his wounds, her golden eyes full of concern.



"Yeah, it's me kid. Sorry that it took so long to get here, damn council wouldn't let us go. But we're here now and you're safe now," Yoruichi whispered, her own voice choked. For what felt like the first time in a lifetime, Yui allowed himself to relax fully, knowing that he was as safe as he could be at the moment.

* * *

Yoruichi wasted no time, instead running out of the room as fast as she could and descended into what one could only describe as Hell. Flames and choking smoke clogged the air. Distantly, she heard the sounds of the Aeons that the boys had met a short time ago. Ifrit's Hellfire rained down onto the Shinobi, tearing them to shreds. It's summoner, Kai, working right along beside him, a terrifying coldness in his expression, even as he smiled and laughed amid the destruction and blood-shed.

Yuri was on the other side of the compound, unleashing icy fury along with his own Summon, Shiva. They had agreed to catch the Shinobi between the four of them, giving them the option of burning alive or freezing to death. The ice queen and her ward coated their section of the compound in ice and blood, in many cases the ice itself was frozen red blood.

Catching the ones who tried to escape, Akira was in control of the forest with terrifying results. The earth itself was seeking out the Shinobi and dealing with them accordingly. Akira himself was cocooned in every kind of poisonous, thorned plant known to man, deep in a meditative trance to allow him to better control the power that Ragnarok was steadily feeding him. All the while listening to the dragons' ideas, and there were some very malevolent, perfect ideas.

"Yoruichi, did 'ja get him?" Anko yelled, her snakes taking out the few Shinobi not trying to kill the boys.

"Yeah. We gotta go, _now._ He looks bad." Yoruichi yelled back, even though Anko was standing right beside her. Anko took one look at the boy and swore, knowing only that his attachment to Bahamut was keeping him alive at the moment. Swearing loudly and more creatively than her friend had ever heard before, she signaled the boys to finish it up and get ready to move.

Anko and Yoruichi moved quickly, Kisuki meeting up with them first. Red mist shifted around the three as they fled, encountering little resistance. Behind them, explosions lit up the sky, the Kai and Yuri finishing up the last of their business there.

The world faded into white.

* * *

Silence. Once again, the eight that had journeyed into Yui's soul realm were shocked into silence, this time by the bloodbath that they had witnessed.

"…My god," Isshin whispered, his mind numb with horror. Masaki had tears streaming down her face, as did Rangiku and Kiyone. Captain Ukitake was as pale as his hair. Even Yumichika was looking a little pale, and he had traveled in the higher districts.

"…Children. They were just children when they did this," he said faintly. Sentaro swallowed dryly, the image of Yui broken and beaten as he was burned into his mind's eyes, flashing before him. It was too much. He ran off the path and behind one of the broken bushes as his lunch made a comeback.

A few minutes later, he came back, pale and slightly green. This time, it was Kiyone who hugged him, his own arms coming up to hold her as he shuddered.

"I guess this is what he meant," she said softly, "When he said that there wasn't anything that I could do to disappoint him. It was because he grew up like this…" she trailed off, the others hearing her words and not knowing what to say.

"…We…should keep going," Captain Ukitake said at last, once everyone had calmed down slightly. There were nods all around, and with that, they set off once again.

* * *

And there you go, another chapter in the ANBU Shinigami story. Seeing as this is turning out to be a lot longer than I thought, I am thinking about dividing it into two different books, so that it doesn't get too long for newcomers to read. That said, I'll let you know the title of the next book in the last chapter of this one!


	26. Will of Fire Burns You:Nightmare Dawning

Thank you to all that reviewed, it is greatly appreciated.

Chapter 26: Will of Fire Burns You: Part 5: Nightmare Dawning

* * *

It was fall, the leaves of Konoha were flaming with reds, gold, and orange as Yui Uchiha stepped out of the hospital for the first time, the only signs of his latest injuries were scars and a few bandages peaking out of his shirt sleeves.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, a small smile coming to his face.

"Glad to be out of there?" Yoruichi asked, grinning. "You have no idea," Yui agreed, "The nurses are evil."

Yoruichi laughed, and guided him down the street with a hand clamped firmly on his shoulder. Yui's smile grew and he allowed himself to be dragged home. That night, he was exiled from the kitchen as his brothers and Yoruichi took over dinner with varying results…

"Are you sure that this is edible?"

"Yes."

"But it's moving…you do know that it's not supposed to be moving on its own right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then why is it wiggling on my plate?"

"Because it's jello."

"That is _not_ jello."

* * *

Yui lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling. Outside, a storm pounded relentlessly on the window, thunder and rain crashing against earth and sky.

"Hey…Yui? Are you still awake?" Yuri asked suddenly, not surprising Yui, he had known his brother was still awake.

"Yeah," he allowed, watching the play of light on the ceiling, caused by the rain and the light of the streetlamps outside. "Sorry about dinner, we didn't think it'd be so hard, it's a lot harder to cook normal food compared to the field cooking we normally do."

Yui sighed, "Yeah, it wasn't too bad though, what did you want?" he asked. He wasn't tired, his mind was full of thoughts and they refused to stop spinning around in his head. Yuri was silent. Yui sighed, if he wasn't going to say anything, then he was going to try to sleep.

"…nothing. Never mind."

Yui sighed again, now he was never going to get to sleep. "What did you want?" He asked again, sitting up and making it clear that he wasn't going to let the subject drop.

"I'm…glad that you're alright, ok! When Yoruichi found you…you didn't look that great. Baa-chan said that the only reason you were still breathing was because of Bahamut…any later and not even he would have been able to keep you alive." Yuri's voice had lowered during his tirade, and at the end Yui had to strain to hear him.



"Yuri-nii, I'm not going to die yet. If I did, then who would cook?" Yui said, a small grin tugging at his mouth. It took him a moment before Yuri caught it, he had called him 'Yuri-nii', he called him his brother. Apparently, Yui just caught on as well, "Ahh… never mind, forget that first part!"

"You think of me as your brother, huh? Well, I guess that isn't so bad," he chuckled, "Well, now that we've got that settled, goodnight little brother."

Yui sat there staring at his brother for a long time, a shocked but pleased look etched on his face. With a small smile on his face, he lay down and fell deeply asleep almost instantly.

* * *

He awoke to an empty room, the smell of bacon assaulting his nose. He sat up, wincing. Belatedly, he remembered what Tsunade had told him, he could expect his scars to tighten and tense every time that it rained, especially after he slept until he was able to move around and warm up.

Stumbling slightly, he got into his Shinobi clothes, strapping his weapons to his person like he did every morning. He was greeted with the off sight of Yoruichi standing at the stove with a wrap-around apron and not much else standing in front of a pan holding sizzling bacon, the rest of the 'family' sitting at the table eating a mix of eggs, rice, fried potatoes and fish.

"Uh, what's all of this?" Yui asked as he sat at the table, Yoruichi placing a plate full of breakfast in front of him. "Well," Yoruichi said, "The boys cooked dinner, so I thought I'd take over breakfast for the day." Smirking at his dazed look, she set a cup of strong black coffee in front of him and waltzed back to the stove.

It was then that three things happened at once.

The wall of the apartment exploded, three Shinobi running in. The boys reacted instantly, taking out the first two intruders.

The third went straight for Yoruichi, who was still hanging onto the frying pan. So doing the first thing she could think of, she swung the pan, bacon grease and all, right at the bastards' head. There was a 'W_ha-CLANG'_ as the pan impacted solidly with his head and the Shinobi dropped.

The boys, Kisuki included, looked at her. She looked back, "What? It worked, didn't it?"

Kai was the first to move, he kneeled carefully by the guy and started poking him with a kunai. "Nee-chan, I think you killed him."

Yui snorted, "She better have, that swing dented my pan!"

Now everyone turned to stare at him.

"What? It was a good pan," he said, defending himself.

A loud explosion followed by several dozen more echoed through the destroyed wall. The six occupants shared a look and moved.

Yoruichi and Kisuki changed into their battle clothes, grabbing their zanpakutō while the boys jumped out of the hole in their wall and hit the ground running, cutting a path through any Sound Shinobi that they saw.

"Guys, my mother-if they get to her-" Yui didn't need to finish.

"Let's go, it's on the way anyways," Yuri said, pushing a dead Oto-nin off of his Naginata. The four of them sped off, making a b-line for the Uchiha district, where the majority of the fighting was going on. The passed Uncle Lee, taking on multiple Shinobi at once, his chakra flaring as he released the first Gate, alongside Uncle Gai who, though older, was taking down as many, if not more than the other Shinobi.

They passed Aunt Tenten and Uncle Neji who were massacring the forces while arguing about what they were going to have for dinner that night. Kai laughed as Tenten hit her husband over the head when he suggested Ramen.

By that time, they had reached the center of the Uchiha district, where Sakura Uchiha lived. Dropping into the street, Yui froze. His house was in runes, and standing in front of it was a scarred Shinobi who was acutely familiar to him, because this Shinobi was the same one who had held him prisoner for so long. Dangling from his hand was the familiar form of his mother, bloody and lifeless.

* * *

"No," Yui whispered, frozen. Thoughts turned through his head, one after the other, mixing and swirling until he didn't know which way was up. However, there was one thought that managed to ring loud and clear, _'It's my fault…'_.

His eyes burned, most likely from tears.

'_I couldn't protect her like I promised…it's my fault…I as good as killed her myself…'_

Now his eyes were on fire, his vision blurred and then became far sharper. A low growl emerged from his throat. Bloody red eyes, swirling with the black of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Easily, his twin Ninjato came out of their sheathes, the blades alighting with ebony fire as his red-and-black eyes all but glowed.

With a roar of pure fury, he launched himself at the Oto-nin, barely aware of his brothers shouting at him. His world decended into blood, pain and fury as he hacked away at the masses.

On the sidelines, his brothers watched in…no one really knew. Each of the boys had known how much his mother meant to him, even if she detested the sight of him on the days she knew who he was and ignored him on the days she didn't. And it was for that reason that they did nothing when he launched himself at the Shinobi, because this wasn't their fight. No matter how much he meant to them, they knew that this was something he was going to have to do on his own, come what may.



Instead, the boys devoted their time to keeping any aid from reaching the Oto-nin, a job and a half in itself. It seemed as though the entire invasion force was being called to that one spot. It didn't matter though, because even if some managed to slip past them, then Yui took them down anyway. By that time, the three others were pretty sure that the ordinals who had been part of the attack force that had killed Yui's mother were long dead and he was now fighting whoever came up to him.

By the time that the invasion ended, the street was slick with blood, and the boys were absolutely drenched in it. In fact, Yuri's hair was as red as Kai's because of all the blood he had managed to accumulate. The air was thick with the rusty, copper-salt scent of blood. In the center of the street, Yui collapsed, his lone blade sinking into a crack in the pavement as ebony flames vanished. His hair had come out of its' braid, slick with blood and clinging to his back. His clothing was torn, his shirt almost completely gone. His pale skin was smeared with blood, exhausted red-and-black eyes faded into weary blue-gray.

Yuri wasn't doing much better. He fell heavily against the wall of a convenient building and slit down to the bottom, his legs splayed limply before him, arms lying like limp noodles beside him. His naginata was stabbed into the street, as blood-coated as he was. Pain-glazed eyes surveyed the street as Yuri gave an amused snort. They sure had tore the place to bits…

Kai either didn't bother , or didn't have the energy left, to make it to anything resembling a wall. He had simply flopped over on his back the moment the last enemy Shinobi was down for good. Despite how tired he was, he wore a self-satisfied smirk. No, he had no qualms about killing any Oto-nin…after all; they had destroyed his home, and murdered his father.

Akira was leaning against a tree with drooping branches, a willow. The thin tendrils that made up the fine branches were coated in blood. Around him, the Shinobi were lying, often three deep with multiple stab wounds caused by something small and thin that went through the body with great force. His hair was out of its usual short ponytail and stained as red as the bark of the tree. Chuckling, he raised a weary hand to pat the bark of the tree as the vines shifted around him, as if blown by an invisible wind.

Soft thumps all too soon signaled the arrival of more Shinobi. Four pairs of weary eyes assessed the strangers and relaxed when they had confirmed that they were Konoha Shinobi. Not that they could really do much if they weren't.



There were at least twenty there, all between Jonin and ANBU in level. Wordlessly, they looked around at the destruction the four boys had caused. And then… "Oi! You're a little late! We ended up doing all the dirty work, I hope you realize that you're on mop-up duty!" Kai called out jokingly, even though one could hear the weariness in his voice.

And someone laughed. No one knew who it was, but it was soon spreading through the crowd as the boys were picked up and sped to the hospital for cases of extreme exhaustion.

* * *

They were a little older now. That much they could see, even though Yui hadn't shot up like his brothers, his braid was longer and his eyes held a hardness that hadn't been there before.

"…And for that reason, you're going to be taken out of the field for a year," Naruto said solemnly.

As usual Kai, the most vocal of the four of them, responded, "WHAT! You can't do that! We're needed on the front, you know how bad it's getting. We're some of the best fighters there!"

"And that is exactly why you are being assigned to ANBU training!" Naruto snapped, "You four have amazing potential and a learning curve that defies all comprehension. Take a year away from the fighting, train, get stronger. You'll be needed more than, and better able to handle the tasks ahead if you are better trained."

"It's not like we don't know everything that they could teach us anyway," Yuri said, his voice arctic cold and cutting like a knife, "Yoruichi pounded ANBU-level fighting into us when we were kids."

"Yes, your fighting is at ANBU level, I'll grant you that." Naruto allowed, "But. There is still a lot that you don't know. Infiltration. Chemicals. Tracking. Seals. Tactics. Strategy. Analysis. Interrogation. Cryptology. Medicine, and medic-jutsu. All of these you have varying amounts of experience with, but nowhere near the level that I need you to be at. That is what you will learn. You are right, there isn't much we can do with your fighting, it's already at a remarkably high level."



"And what is it that you need us for?" Akira asked. Naruto's mouth hardened into a thin line. He sighed, "Good question, and one that you have a right to know. At the end of your training, you will be sent out onto the frontlines as a striker team. Your strength, combined with that of your Summons make you unsuitable for melee combat with other Konoha Shinobi in the area. Therefore, your task is going to be mass-destruction. You boys are going to be our main weapon against the Oto-forces. You have already proved that you are effective against large numbers by yourself, all we have to do is refine that skill."

"Fine," Yui said, speaking for the first time. His voice took everyone by surprise, it was dead. Monotone. Lifeless. Terrifying. "When do we have to report for training?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'll send some ANBU to take you to your training center," Naruto said, his face unreadable. Silently, he bowed and walked out the door, the other three following him.

Naruto sighed and dropped into his chair. There were times when he really hated being Hokage, this was one of them.

* * *

He was dancing.

That was the only way that it could be described. He danced through the shower of deadly metal with deceptive ease. Around him, the other three were doing the same thing. A siren sounded and the rain stopped, the field littered with weapons of all kinds, most imbedded deep into the ground.

"Well done boys," Anko said, pride lacing her voice, "You're officially ANBU members."

The boys looked at her with varying minute expressions, each one a variation of pleased and excited.

Pleased because they survived the year.

Excited because they would once again be allowed to do what they had done all their life, fight.

Their next stop was to get the mandatory ANBU tattoo. Yui hissed as the old man etched the familiar and life-long mark into his upper arm. He waited outside as his brothers got their own ANBU-tattoos, rubbing irritably at the bandage that covered it. It had to be etched right over one of his many scars, and it _itched_.

Their next stop was to get uniforms, though they didn't get any masks-and what was the point? Due to their …job…a mask would be shattered and gone within the first week of active duty. Their next stop was the Hokage's office where they were to receive their first mission.

Wordlessly, they sped off into the trees, willingly going back into what they knew was Hell to defend their home and their loved ones.

* * *

They were, once again, older. The eldest three boys had shot up, and Yui's braid was now just past his ANBU vest.

Drenched in blood, they made a horrific sight as they danced through Orochimaru's monsters. And dancing it was, because it couldn't really be called anything else, it was too graceful to be anything else.

Soundlessly, Yui landed behind a large dragon-like creature as its' head separated from the rest of it and the carcass dropped to the ground. He didn't linger in one spot for long; he was already working on breaking past the guard of the next opponent.

Their opponents were both human and monster, and it was the humans who fell first. Time in his memory passed quickly, the sun traveling across the sky and sinking low, until there were only a few more left to cut down.

And then there were none….

Weary, the boys made their way to their camp, or what passed as a camp for them. It was really nothing more than four blankets and a fire pit. But it was near to running water and the first thing that they did was to simply jump in the river and wash off all of the dried, or sticky depending on how fresh it was, blood.

After pulling themselves out of the water, they stripped down to birthday suits and changed into dry-and mostly clean clothes.

((The viewers were still too traumatized by what they had seen since the last white-flash to even think of being embarrassed. The only thing that they did register was the sheer amount of scaring that the boys seemed to have accumulated.))

"So, what was the score today?" Kai asked, not bothering to put on a shirt.

"I got 45," Akira said from the fire pit.

"48," Yuri said from the river where he was cleaning his naginaga, and trying to get the last of the blood out of his hair.

"53…I think," Yui admitted, tying off the end of his wet braid.

"What? Aw…Damnit. I only got 51," Kai said pouting.

"Well, monsters at any rate. How many humans did you get?" Yuri asked.

"Uh…" he stared out into space for a moment, "I don't actually remember. I lost track after 76."



"Don't worry about it. We always have tomorrow, we're being sent out to the southern front this time."

* * *

"You are to guard the convoy of Refugees until they get to their destination," Naruto said, looking far more haggard than they had ever seen him. He was dressed in loose black pants and a dark blue shirt, fingerless gloves on his hands and a sword attached to his back.

"Understood." Yui said, his braid was past his behind now, at roughly the same length that his hair was at now.

"Dismissed, and good luck," Naruto said. The boys bowed and left silently, their feet not even making a sound against the cracked cement that now served as a base of operations. They stepped out into the bright mid-day sun, though that was the only bright thing around.

The village of Konoha was in runes. Buildings everywhere one looked were in varying states of disrepair, most had at least one hole in them. The streets were cracked, and everyone was wearing clothing that had been patched at least once and had defiantly seen better days.

Racing across the roofs, they expertly avoided loose shingles and holes. They stopped in front of a group of about two hundred people, all that was left of the civilian population of Konoha. The rest had either died or had become Shinobi. What they saw here was the elderly and the very young, those too young to fight.

"The four of you will be guarding us?" one old man asked, seeming to be the leader of the group.

Yui nodded, "Yes."

The man grinned, somehow taking years off of his face, "Well, I feel safer already, knowing the 'Demons of Konoha' are watching over us," he half-joked. Yui smiled, it was small, but it was there, "We'll do our best. We are ready to leave now, the sun is not too far up, so we should get going now while there is daylight."

* * *

And with that, their convoy moved out, two boys taking front, two taking back, and various others in-between. They traveled as swiftly as they could, the civilians unable to move at even the slower Shinobi paces, reducing them to a fast walk. However, they made good time, all things considered. The moon was in the middle of the sky when they finally came to a stop for the night. The boys silently sat down to keep watch, able to run off far less sleep than even the other Shinobi, due to the vast amounts of Mako that they had.

This stemming from the fact that, even Yui was the only one to get any special powers from it, they were all Cetra, and thus able to call on far more of their Summons' powers. At dawn, they moved silently to wake the Shinobi first, then the civilians, urging them to move quickly.

They continued with this pace for four more days, and by this time, even the boys were starting to show signs of fatigue.

That night, while they stood guard, a powder drifted through the air, causing them to feel drowsy. Slowed by the drug, it took them a second to realize it, they were under attack. Shadowy figures drifted into camp, heading for the Shinobi first. They would have gotten to them as well, if Kai hadn't let out a piercing whistle, waking everyone.

The small clearing turned into Chaos.

No matter how many of the Oto-nin he cut down, one or two always managed to slip past him, past the other Konoha-nin and into the group of terrified civilians.

"No!" he growled, raw fury coursing though him, Mako thundering through his veins, lending a luminescent green color to his eyes, and giving his tired body strength. However, Orochimaru seemed to have gone all out on this one, and the opponents would not stop coming. No matter how many of them he cut away, the number of civilians decreased at an alarming rate, the other Shinobi almost entirely gone now.



* * *

At last, the only ones left were his brothers, badly beaten and alone in the midst of a bloody battleground. Yui collapsed next to the body of a small seven-year old girl who had, earlier that day, given him a pink flower as thanks for taking them away and to a better place.

And for the first time in years, Yui allowed himself to cry, diamond tears turning into ruby as they traced their way down blood-stained cheeks and dropping to the grass. He held the body of the dead girl close, sobbing as he mourned the loss of one of the few people who weren't afraid of him due to his reputation.

"Yui…we have to go," Akira said, kneeling next to his brother. All three of them had seen the girl give the flower to him, and knew how much it meant to him.

"Mister…don't…cry…" the girl said, surprising the both of them.

"Why? Why not? You're going to die and there's nothing that I can do about it," he choked out, his emotions swirling in a vortex.

"You tried though…you fought very hard…I…saw you…" she said slowly, her voice fading as she became weak with blood loss, "Thank you for…everything…don't be…sad. Now I…can see..Kaa-chan and…Tou-san again…" the small girl's eyes drifted close for the last time and Yui sobbed.

Some time later, he didn't know when, he placed the body of the dead girl down, stood, walked three steps away and spun around, black flames engulfing the body as the sun started to rise.

"Uncle Naruto needs to know of this," he said emotionlessly.

Wordlessly, the four of them sped off, making the trip back to Konoha in less than a day. They gave their report to Naruto, though the state of their clothes told the story as well as their words did, there was no other way for them to have gotten that much blood on their clothes any other way.

* * *

And there you go, the end of chapter twenty six. I realise that I covered several different time skips, but there wasn't anything importent going on then anyway.

That said, I drew some pictures of the boys, so if anyone is interested in seeing what the 'Demons of Konoha' look like, then let me know and I'll e-mail them to you.


	27. Will of Fire Burns You: Final Flame

Yeah…changed my penname again…

To those of you who wanted to see my pictures of the guys…My computer is refusing to send them, and many of you didn't leave your e-mail addresses so that I could. Therefore, I have a solution-I have created a web-page that you can go to and see them for yourself.

www. Fanfiction Of Tsukasa. Googlepages. Com

This is without all of the spaces. It's under fanart, and then under ANBU Shinigami.

Chapter 27: Will of Fire Burns You: part 6: Final Flame

It was a cloudy day. At least it wasn't raining, Yui thought, though that was really the only good thing he could come up with at the moment. Beyond the wall, shifting shadows signified the presence of those monsters of Orochimaru's.

They no longer had any ground outside of the walls of Konoha, and even the defenses were failing. It all amounted to a waiting game. They were out of food, and nearly out of water, there was nothing left for them to lose. The once-proud Shinobi of Konoha were down to two hundred and fifty dammed souls who had fought tooth and nail for every minute of their continued existence.

The Last Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, was using a special seal of his to broadcast his last message to those few who were left.

"…And so it is with this in mind that I say this! We may have lost here, but we can make damn sure that these monsters never make it to the outside world! You all know where your post is, and you know what you have to do. All that I can say to you now is that it has been my greatest honor to fight beside you for this last year, and all of the years before it! Remember, that the Will of Fire will continue to burn through the lives of those who made it to the outside world, away from Orochimaru. And it will continue to burn throughout their children's' lives, and so on through the years. Konoha may be destroyed, but the ideas and people whom the ideal of Konoha is founded on will never be destroyed completely! Now, as my last order as your Hokage, I order you to get to your post, and show them what Konoha's finest can do!"

The four brothers locked eyes with each other, faces calm and accepting, knowing that they very likely would not be alive to see the dawn.

"Well, off we go once again."

"Do you think we can get something good to eat at whichever place we end up?"

"Kai, we are going to our imminent deaths and all you can think of is your next meal?"

"Well, I have to think of something! What are you thinking of then?"

"…the same thing actually…"

"I don't care what it is, so long as it's filling," Yui said, grinning at the gallows-humor that seemed to have taken hold of him and his brothers.

"Here, here!" Kai chorused.

A familiar roar ripped through the air, signaling the start of Oto's final attack against the Shinobi of Konoha. The boys shared a look and were off, running as fast as their battered and weary bodies could take them.

During their run, Bahamut was conversing with Yui, making sure that he knew exactly what he had to do. In his hand clutched the pendant that Naruto had given him long ago, the key to summoning the lifestreasm, Holy.



Behind them, the monsters that had previously been up against the walls were now demolishing them with rapid speed. Climbing over their dead, they advanced, nightmares given human form.

"Uh, pick up the pace boys, they're on our ass and gaining fast!" Akira yelled from the rear of the group. As one, they sped up, scant seconds from their positions.

Landing in a clearing in one of Konoha's many parks, the boys felt Kyuubi's power wash over them. Sharing a look with his brothers, he started what he knew to be the last thing he ever did.

Power flowed from the gem, even as the monsters not killed by Kyuubi surrounded them. He could feel the Chakra of the other Shinobi disappearing-they were the last ones left. A pale green aura surrounded him, reaching out and down.

The monsters were held at bay as his brothers fought for all that they were worth, but they were tired and there were too many of them. That was ok though, he didn't need long.

Cupping the crystal in-between his hands, he focused on it, feeling the unique energy that flowed just beneath it's surface. Half-lidded eyes started to glow a pale green as the pupil went slit like that of a cat's eye. Around him, a green aura took shape, spreading out and around him.

His brothers had long ago called on their summons, but there were simply too many of the monsters for them to last for long.

"Oi! Hurry it up!" Kai snapped out, a gash appearing on his back, bringing him to his knees. Ifrix roared in fury and destroyed the one who had dared to attack his Chosen one. Yui didn't say anything, lost in the song of the Lifestream, though the green glow did get noticeably brighter, growing and swelling around him.

Above them, if one looked, they could see thread-fine streams of energy weaving though the air. Those threads were joined by more, and grew to form ropes of energy in the sky. Slowly, so slowly, the streams descended from the sky, weaving through the throngs of monsters.

Then, it happened. The amount of Lifestream that Yui called on was so great that it began to crystallize. The green aura that surrounded Yui was now keeping the monsters back all on its own, which was a good thing because his brothers were in no condition to fight. They lie on the ground, heavily injured and bleeding out but peaceful for the first time in years.

Kai caught Yuri's eyes and flashed him a devil-may-care grin that had become his trademark over the years. Yuri rolled his eyes as Akira chuckled, his hairtie long gone. A weary hand brushed blood-soaked bangs out of his eyes and watched with calm certainty as his brother floated five feet off the ground, curled around a small green gem.

At that moment, pale green light engulfed them and they knew no more.

Yui on the other hand, saw it all. So much power! It took all his concentration to direct that power, make it go where he wanted it to go. Around him, he could feel his brothers fading, and then disappearing as a wave of energy washed over them. _'No'_ he thought, well aware of what that amount of energy would do to a human body-he was already starting to feel the effects himself-and did not want that to happen to them, _'Crystallize,'_ he thought desperately, trying to show the Lifestream what he wanted done.

Understanding, the Lifestream wrapped around the three boys, lifting them up and crystallizing around them. Yui smiled slightly as he continued his grim task. He could feel Uncle Naruto and Uncle Kyuubi in the distance, tearing though the monsters. He stretched out his senses, feeling the darkness that was Orochimaru's monsters and used the power of the Lifestream to wipe them from existence.

He was nearing his limit and he knew it. He could Feel both of his Uncle's energy signatures fadeing, even as more of the Wrongness was destroyed. _'A little longer,'_ he thought, forcing back the stabbing pain that enveloped his body, telling him that he had reached the limits of what his body could handle.

'_I have to hold on for a little longer-I've almost gotten them!'_



The deep, ugly Wrongness was beside his Uncles, fighting them. He stretched out with his borrowed power and wrapped it around Orochimaru even as his world faded to black and simply held, knowing that his uncle would do the rest.

The Lifestream surged around his body, held in place by the last shreds of his will, but it knew. It knew that one of the few who could hear it had died, and it knew why. And it was angry.

Gently, very gently, crystal formed around the small body, wrapping it in a cocoon of glowing crystal even as it seeked out the last of his enemies. Crystalline tendrils formed, netting around the ruined buildings of Konoha, through the trees, catching the shadows and destroying them utterly. By sundown, there were no more monsters to be seen, and Konoha was entombed with layer upon layer of crystal threads, thick as any tree in the forests around Konoha. And the bodies of those who fought the last battle were entombed within the crystal itself, their faces at peaceful for the first time in so long. The green glow of the crystal faded just as the moon rose, shining through the crystal turning what was once a scene of horror into something out of a fantasy book.

(((())))

The eight of them watched in stunned awe as the village of Konoha faded from view, the scene of so many deaths fresh on their minds, as well as the final end of Konoha.

"My God…" Isshin whispered, stunned disbelief on his face, "He called it. He was actually able to call the Lifesteam and use it as a weapon! And even after he…he died, it _stayed_ and destroyed those things of its own will. That-that shouldn't be _possible_!"

"You'll find, when dealing with those four boys, what should be possible and what they manage to do are different things entirely. Those four are bound by entirely different rules than the rest of us," said a voice beside them.



Almost as one, the group turned to see a dark skinned young boy in a sleeveless purple jacket with the hood drawn up over his face, hiding his eyes. Jeans with a silver chain hanging in a loop from his pocket completed the outfit.

"Who are you?" Ichigo demanded, recovering from his shock.

"I am Bahamut. You must hurry. He is being rather stubborn about this and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold onto him."

A door materialized in front of the group, made of the same kind of crystal they had seen cover Konoha. Etched on it was the ANBU tattoo.

"He is beyond that door. Unfortunately, I cannot go there, it is the deepest part of his soul, where not even I can go without permission."

"And what makes you think that we can go there?" Yumichika demanded, his face regaining some of its color.

"Because, you are the first people outside of his brothers to see his darkest memories, even I have not seen them in their entirety. Each of you are important to him, he considers you to all be, in a sense, the closest thing to family outside of his brothers that he has had in a very long time."

Nobody moved, and for a second, they forgot to breath.

"Family? Us? But his brothers-"

"Have problems dealing with this as it is, but they had their own ways of coping. Yui did not, not until he took the two of you as students, but by itself that wasn't enough. When Nell came along, he found someone who truly needed him, and in time that list extended to include Yachiru as well. If things ever got bad, he would willingly draw his swords to make sure the two children were safe."



A vicious grin split the child's face, "And I pity those who would stand in his way. You see, each of you have given him a reason to continue to live, Nell and Yachiru more so then most."

Isshin spoke up for the first time, "I can see how the others would play into this, but how do I fit in? I don't think I've ever met him before!"

Bahamut shook his head, "You have, once. He was the one who helped you slip past the gates of soul society when you went to start your life with Masaki-san."

Confusion, then comprehension dawned on him, "But how would that-"

"You act much like Naruto Uzumaki, his Uncle did. It was because of that resemblance that he helped you. No, though it may be weaker than the others, you do have a connection to him."

Sentaro looked at Bahamut and walked up to the door, "So, this will take us to Yui-sensei?"

"Yes."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he said, raising a hand to pound on the door, "Hey Sensei! Open up-we got something to say to ya!" he bellowed, pounding away at the door. As he was about to strike it for the fourth time, the doors soundlessly drifted open, revealing a different landscape than what they had become used to.

Despite the fact that it was Sentaro who opened the gates, Masaki was the first to step through them. On the other side of the door, they could see a vast forest, with strange buildings rising from the treetops.

They stood on a transparent sheet of what looked to be glass, or crystal. It was hexagonal in shape, one of the sides connecting to the door, and the one opposite it connecting to the next hexagon and so on to 

create a path through the foggy landscape. The space between the trees was filled with fog, and through that fog they could see arcs of what looked to be blue fire.

Swiftly, Masaki strode ahead, heedless of her husband and son scurrying after her. She was a Mother on a Mission and God help the poor fool who got in her way…

The pathway curved through the trees, cutting a twisting path between the limbs of various trees, sometimes they passed just over their heads, or just under the platforms, the glass/crystal almost resting on the limb.

They didn't know how long they had been walking, only that it had been for a long time, and the farther they walked, the thicker the mist got. A fine layer covered the platforms and wrapped around the trees, turning the entire landscape surreal and unnerving.

After what seemed like hours, they saw something up ahead. It appeared to be a person.

"Yui!"

Kiyone broke away from the group and ran ahead. Not pausing, she threw her arms around the figure in a hug.

"…sorry, but I'm not him." The stranger said, lightly resting a hand on her head.

"Wha?" Kiyone said, looking up. The stranger had purple hair, cut short in the back with long bangs that brushed his chest. His eyes were a deep purple, and shaped like a cat's. He was wearing a deep v-neck top that showed off his chest, accented by the black cord that was wrapped loosely around his neck multiple times. His pants were black and semi-loose, allowing free movement, with two belts hanging in an 'X' from slim hips.

Kiyone flushed red and hasistily backed away, stammering, "W-who a-are you!"

The man laughed, "Well, now that is an interesting question…" he mused, looking up and to the left, as though somewhere out there held the answer, "See…I don't have a name, not yet. Mostly because my dear landlord hasn't made up his mind as to what he wants to do,"

"Landlord? Then…are you the spirit of his Zanpato?" Isshin asked as Sentaro pulled Kiyone back and glared at the young man.

Said young man laughed, it was a nice laugh, "Got it in one! See, a Zanpato is a part of the Shinigami's soul, but…" and here his eyes grew dark, "If that soul is…undecided, if it is being torn apart by indecision, then the Zanpato changes as well to reflect that."

The nameless spirit shook his head, "Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that is? Long story short- when my idiot landlord decided he wasn't going to kill anymore, his soul…fractured for lack of a better word, like it or not, he is a fighter. It's literately in his blood."

"So what are you doing here?" Captain Ukitake asked, pinning the young man with a piercing stare.

Dark, serious purple eyes locked onto Captain Ukitake's brown ones, "There is only so much a person can take before their soul snaps." He said dully, "You've seen what he's gone through, all of that and no place to go. Everyone needs a 'safe place'. He doesn't have on. The others, they have stronger ties to their divisions, ties to other people to ground them, even if said other people don't realize it. Yui…doesn't. He may be a fighter, but war like that one took a lot out of him, almost more than he had to give."

"Where is he?" Masaki asked, tension in every line of her body.

"Keep following this path, you're almost there now. I on the other hand have to go back to the door and keep my idiot landlord from collapsing in on himself any more than he already has." The young man all but ghosted past them, raising a hand in goodbye as he continued back along the path, "See if you can't get the idiot to wake up. God knows I can't seem to get through to him." And with that the mist closed around him and he disappeared.

"That was…odd…" Yumichika said.

"But if you think about it, it does make sense. His brothers do seem better adapted to living here," Sentaro pointed out.

"Never mind that, let's just find Yui and get out of here!" Rangiku said, shaking her head and continuing down the path, the others following close behind them.

True to the young man's word, from the mists appeared a large tree. This tree was different however, it towered above the others, the pathway becoming a large hexagonal platform around the tree itself. The area was lit by a pale green glow, coming from the tree, though they could see that the tree was wilting slightly.

Sitting in one of the lower branches of the tree itself, was a familiar figure.

"YUI!" Kiyone yelled, charging forward, Sentaro and Rangiku right behind her. The three skidded to a stop in front of the tree, looking up at the reclining figure in the branches.

"Yui, thank god, we thought we'd never find you!" Rangiku said, rambling on in relief. Sentaro backed up a step, into her, "Guys, something's not right, look at him," he choked out, pointing at him.

"What?" Rangiku said looking at him and then taking a closer look at Yui. Her breath caught in her throat as lifeless gray eyes stared unseeingly at her. "Yui…wh-what happened to you?" she whispered hoarsely.

"What are you doing here?" Yui said, his voice monotone, dead.



"'What are we doing here?' We are here to drag you back!" Kiyone yelled, ignoring her teachers' lifeless face.

"Why?"

"Because…because…What the Hell do you mean 'why'?" Rangiku sputtered, the others remaining silent behind her.

"But…I don't want to go back," Yui said calmly, flicking his hand, summoning black flames. He idly watched them twist and stream through his fingers before turning back to the others, "It's…peaceful here. No fighting, no war, no one trying turn me into a punching bag because of how I looked, I like it here."

"Don't want to go back? Why not?" Masaki demanded, staring at him as if trying to find an answer in his lifeless eyes.

He sighed, "Is it really that hard to understand?" he asked, before they could answer, he continued, "I don't want to fight any more. I fought my war already, for all the good it did me." He laughed then, it was harsh and dark and scared them.

"No, I do not want to go back, thank you very much. Go back to the real world and leave me be."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?" Ichigo yelled angrily, stomping forward. "You just want to give up now? What about your brothers! They went through hell to get you back in one piece! Rangiku, Sentaro and Kiyone worked their asses off for a month non-stop to get strong enough to get you back. You going to sit there and tell me that it means nothing?" Ichigo roared.

There was a flicker of emotion that disappeared almost immediately, but they saw it. It was enough to give them hope that he was still in there.



"And what about Nell and Yachiru?" Ichigo hissed, surprising everyone with the venom in his voice. There was another flicker of emotion in his eyes, and Ichigo charged on, "They're waiting for you, you selfish son of a _bitch_. Do you have any _idea_ how worried they have been?"

Now everyone was staring at him, he didn't care though, he was way beyond caring. This…this…this seriously ticked him off! He had gone through so much, fought so hard and now he was just going to give up when everyone needed him the most? Nuh-nuh, not on his watch he wasn't!

"What about them? Yachiru has the entire eleventh division and Nell has you, so there isn't any reason to worry!" Yui yelled back, sitting up.

"That's not the goddamned point! They want you! Damn it, Yachiru was on the verge of tears and Nell was like some kind of zombie! That's your fault!" Ichigo yelled back, "Don't you get it you bastard? You're like their big brother, you're important to them."

Yui froze, his mind going blank…they thought of him as a big brother…? (Poor Yui-chan…so dense…)

Ichigo continued, "And what about Sentaro and Kiyone? They look up to you too! Who was the one that taught them Ninja stuff?"

"You were the one who helped me after that mission!" Kiyone yelled, knowing he would know which mission it was, even if she didn't say it out loud.

"And if you hadn't taught me to control my Cetran powers, I would have gone crazy," Rangiku added, just in time to throw Yui off balance slightly. Seeing a chance, Ichigo darted in through a hole in Yui's defense and landed a right hook, and following it up with a kick. Catching the kick, Yui pushed Ichigo off balance and punched him in the gut, making Ichigo cough up bile.

"There's a reason big-brothers are born first jackass," Ichigo panted, landing another punch on his jaw, "It's so that they can protect the siblings that come after them!"



"One thing you're forgetting, both of them are technically older than I am!" Yui panted, his speech somewhat stilted due to the massive bruise that was beginning to show on his jaw, "And I'm not really their brother either!"

"That's not the goddamn point!" Ichigo roared, "For all intents and purposes, you _are_ their onii-chan and you damn well better act like it and apologize to them or I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"And what the _hell_ would you call what you've been doing for the last twenty minutes?" Yui said, sounding more tired than he had at the beginning of the fight.

"A warm-up!" Ichigo shouted, taking one last charge at him, Yui putting all his remaining strength into one last punch. Both connected and both fighters were knocked flat, the only sounds coming from them were the sounds of their harsh panting.

From the sidelines Isshin said, "Well, now that was anti-climatic," only for his wife to smack him upside the head. The three girls ran over to the two boys when it was obvious that they weren't going to be getting up for round two. Masaki helped Ichigo up into a sitting position, while Rangiku and Kiyone got Yui into a similar position.

Ichigo grinned and spat a glob of saliva/blood off to the side, "'Ya know, for not having fought in a hundred years, you have one hell of a punch."

Yui chuckled weakly, blue-gray eyes tired as he leaned against Rangiku and wiped away a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, "Yeah, well, you have a pretty good punch yourself…for a kid."

"Oi! Who the hell you calllin' a kid?" Ichigo demanded in mock-outrage.

"Compared to me? You _are_ a kid, though if you went by that logic, Captain Ukitake could call just about everyone 'kid'," Yui said, grinning slightly.



"So does that mean that you're back to normal now?" Sentaro asked, kneeling beside Kiyone. Yui looked at him and gave a slight nod, "Yeah, mostly. I…guess that I just needed to let off some steam, sorry about that."

Rangiku pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, "Yui, if anyone deserves to let off some steam, it's you. After all that you went through, I'm surprised that you're as kind as you are."

"Eh heh, thanks…I guess," Yui said, coloring slightly. Between his parents, Ichigo snickered.

"Well, can we assume that you're going to come back with us now?" Captain Ukitake asked, a kind smile on his face.

Yui was silent for a moment, "Yeah…I guess I will," he said, "After all, I can't just leave Nell and Yachiru alone like this."

Kiyone's fist whipped out and wacked him in the back of the head before she could stop herself, "Baka! What about us?"

"Well….you're all grown, you don't really need me around that much, and as for training, Kai and my brothers could continue your education, so it really wasn't something I thought about..."

'_Wa-thwack-thwack-thwack!'_

"Baka-sensei! We want _you_ to teach us!" Sentaro snapped, his fist clenched and a tic mark appearing on his forehead.

"Sorry!" Yui yelped, holding his aching head, now sporting several lumps from where his _dear_ students had whacked him.



"If you don't mind, I'd like to be getting back to my body now, not that your world isn't interesting, but the Vice-captain and Nell must be getting worried by now," Yumichika pointed out.

"Right, it's a long walk back, we should be on our way," Captain Ukitake agreed.

Standing, Yui brushed off his pants, "You walked all the way in? That's pretty far…but I think that there's a shorter way out."

Isshin raised an eyebrow, "What way would that be?"

Yui smiled and closed his eyes, concentrating. Twenty feet away from the group, silver streams of energy spiraled up, twisting and solidifying until a doorway took shape.

"There, that should take you directly back to your bodies, but to be safe, we should all go back one at a time," Yui said, looking at the others.

"And what about you?" Masaki asked, looking at him worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," he said reassuringly, "I have to stay here to hold the doorway open, but after you are all through, I'll follow."

Masaki looked at him a moment longer, her piercing gaze trying to determine if he was lying or not. After a moment, she nodded, releasing him from her hold, "Then we shall see you on the other side."

Slowly, the eight of them trickled out, leaving only Yui standing there. Slowly he looked around his world. The mist was receding, and he could see the faint outline of the moon in the sky. The trees were greener now, and the hexagonal platforms that made up the path were glowing slightly. The tree that was the core of his soul was no longer wilting, but standing tall and strong. Waving a hand, the doorway that was no longer needed faded from existence in a flurry of silver threads.

"So, going to go back now or are you going to stay here?" asked a voice familiar to Yui. He didn't bother to turn around to answer, "I'm going back. Doesn't look as though I get to rest just yet, does it?"

"Che', guess not. The next time I see your face, you'd better have found your will again."

Silver streams wrapped around him and spiraled upward, taking their passenger back to the world of the conscious.

((((((()))))))))

Light shined down into weary blue-gray eyes.

Blinking, he made out twelve distinctive shapes clustered around his bed. Raising a hand, he groaned and rubbed his head, it felt like someone had taken half a dozen exploding tags and set them off inside his skull.

"Welcome back," a figure dressed in black and white with black hair said. His vision cleared to reveal the speaker to be Captain Unohana.

"Yeah, I'm back," he murmured, blinking slowly, "Sorry it took so long, I…guess I just needed a few thing sorted out."

From off to the side, someone-most likely Ichigo-snorted. He pushed himself up into a sitting position to see that he was in one of the regular hospital rooms.

"You had us worried, you little brat," Tsunade said softly, hazel eyes locked onto his own. He grinned weakly in response, "Where are Yachiru-chan and Nell-chan?"



"Right here," Yumichika said, pushing the two children forward, "We'll wait outside."

As the other people filed out of the room, the two children stared at Yui, neither one knowing exactly what they should say. Suddenly, Nell gave a choked sob and launched herself at Yui, heavy sobs wracking her as she cried into his chest.

"You-you stubid, basdad," she sobbed, her speech disintegrating into what it had been before she had met Ichigo, "Don't eber do dat again! Chiru-chan and I was worried!" brown eyes filled with tears looked up into slightly shocked light blue ones.

"Sorry Nell-chan," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He sighed and rested his chin on her bone mask, "Sorry," he said again. Brown eyes glared into blue ones, "You 'pologise to Chiru too!" she demanded, pulling away from him.

Blue-gray eyes looked up curiously, looking at the small pink haired girl. Tear-filled brown eyes looked back at him, threatening to spill over. Wordlessly, Nell slid off of Yui's lap and sat beside him as he moved to the side of the bed and swung his legs over the side. Smiling softly, he held his arms out, an open invitation. Half a second later, Yachiru was sitting on his lap, her small arms wrapped tightly around him, crying into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, like he had for Nell and buried his face in her hair, murmuring softly, "It's alright Yachiru-chan, I'm ok."

"'S my fault," she sobbed, clutching helplessly at his hospital robe, "'m sorry. 's my fault you got hurt."

Yui's breath caught in his throat for a second upon hearing what she said.

"_It's my fault that she got hurt, my fault that Daddy died…" _ His own words echoed back at him with disturbing clarity.

He tightened his grip around her, making her look up at him questioningly. "Yachiru, _listen_ to me," he pleaded, dropping the –chan that only he was allowed to use, "None of this was your fault. Do you understand? It _wasn't your fault._"

"B-but-"

"No, no 'but's. Captain Kurotsuchi…had been sending people after Nell-chan for a long time now, ever since that incident with the barrier, you remember that, right?" Yachiru nodded into his chest, having buried her face in it when he started talking, his low voice soothing and comforting. "Anyway, ever since then, he has been sending people to sneak around, trying to get past me to get to Nell-chan. This last time was the exception. I had thought that they were after Nell-chan again, so I decided to leave her inside with you and Yumichika so she'd be safe and I could sneak away to get rid of them one at a time. Only this time, they weren't after Nell-chan," he heard both girls inhale sharply, seeing where this was going. Nell scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around him as well. He wrapped one arm around her, the other still firmly around Yachiru and continued his story, "It was a miscalculation on my part," he admitted, "I hadn't thought he would do something like that, but I was wrong. This time, they were after me. Do you understand now? It wasn't your fault Yachiru, not at all."

Yui's voice had remained low and soothing throughout his entire explanation, and it was having a soothing effect on the two girls. They were both young, and neither had slept well since Yui had been kidnapped. Nell yawned widely, followed by Yachiru. Yui chuckled, yawning himself.

"You two must be really tired to yawn like that," he commented, "I'll call the others back in so they can take you back to your beds."

"No! Can't we stay here?" Yachiru pleaded, pouting up at Yui. He crumbled, there was no resisting that technique, and besides he was tired too. Surely it wouldn't do any harm?

"…Fine. But only this once, got it?"

After a bit of moving around, the three of them had settled. Yui was in the middle, lying on his back with an arm around each of the girls. Yachiru was on his right, her head resting over his heart, its' sound lulling her to sleep. Nell was on his left, half lying on his stomach, rising and falling with each breath that he took. Within minutes, the three of them were deep asleep, looking more at-peace than they had for a long time.



It was this picture that the others walked in on some time latter. The girls (and Yumichika) cooed quietly while the rest of the boys stood behind them, rolling their eyes.

"We should let them sleep, no doubt they need it," Captain Unohana said.

The others agreed quickly and left as silently as they came, not noticing the single half-open blue-gray eye drift shut, a small smile finding its way onto his face as he followed his little sisters into sleep.

(((())))

Sorry that this one's so late! Finals, writers' block, my loud little brothers' equally loud friends, and all manner of other things were conspiring against me this time around. However, due to the fact that most of Finals are behind me now, I should be able to get back to a regular schedule.

In other news….

The trip through memory-lane is over now! Where will things go from here? Who knows, I don't really know and I'm the one writing the story!


	28. Will of Fire Burns You: Remix Edition

Chapter 28: Will of Fire Burns You: Remix Edition

It was late the next morning when the three of them woke next. The sun was shining through the window, the birds were singing and Kai was looking down at him grinning like a mad-man totally destroying the beautiful morning. Yui frowned, sleepy eyes glaring at his brother. He was unhealthily cheerful in the mornings….he was going to have to fix that one of these days.

"Aren't you suppose to be in bed?"

"Eh, what they don't know won't hurt them," Kai said, shrugging. "Buuutttt, I thought I'd tell you that Yoru-nee is on her way, she and the rest of the girls went clothes shopping for you, seeing as none of your stuff fits anymore. I'm also here to tell you that Captain Zaraki is coming."

Yui winced as a spiritual energy wave washed over him, "Yeah, I noticed," he tried to sit up, only to find both Nell and Yachiru clinging tightly to him. Slowly and with the aid of Kai's sand, he unattached the two children and sat up just as Captain Zaraki marched into the room.

He looked at Yui for a long while, cool blue-gray eyes staring back at him with a Zen-like calmness that was slightly unnerving based on who he was. "So, this is where she's been," he said, off balance. The blue-grays softened noticeably as a small smile found its way onto his face, "Yes, she was tired and I didn't have the heart to send her away."

"'Che. I don't care; the brat can take care of herself. And if someone _tried_ to do anything, they'd be dead, wouldn't they?" Captain Zaraki said, pinning him with a knowing look. Yui's smile grew, "For one who has your reputation, you are very perceptive," he acknowledged.

Captain Zaraki shrugged, just because he came from the outer districts didn't make him an idiot, though it did mean that he had different priorities, including knowing who the bigger threats were. Yui had just jumped up pretty high on the list. 



"Nugh."

The sound drew their attention to the two small children on either side of Yui, who were just beginning to wake up, or at least Yachiru was. She opened her eyes and caught sight of Captain Zaraki. In seconds she had jumped up to her usual place on his shoulder and was telling him everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

Nell on the other hand was far more reluctant to wake. Frowning irritably, she curled up against Yui's thigh and refused to wake up. Kai and Yachiru snickered; even Captain Zaraki looked faintly amused. Yui shot Kai a well practiced glare. As usual, it did nothing.

It was at that time that the door burst open and a collection of students, friends and Captains entered, led by one Rangiku Matsumoto. She was followed shortly by Kiyone, Sentaro, Tsunade, Captain Unohana, Captains Hitsugaya and Ukitake, Ichigo, Isshin and the twins Karin and Yuzu, with Yumichika and Ikkaku bringing up the rear. All in all, it made the room rather packed.

"Hello Sensei!" Rangiku sang as she pranced to the side of his bed and flopped down, a rather large bag thumping ominously beside her.

"Hello Rangiku…ah… what are all of you doing here? And what's with the bags?" Yui asked as Nell and Yachiru hopped down from their respective positions to talk with the Kurosaki twins.

"Clothing silly," Yumichika tittered, dropping a similar bag next to Rangiku's, "Ran-chan told us how dreadful you were at picking out clothing and we saw this as a perfect opportunity to get you a decent wardrobe!"

Yui shot Rangiku a scathing look, "Oh, really?" Rangiku chuckled nervously as pale blue-gray eyes glared at her, though she wasn't worried- if he was mad at her then she wouldn't see the humor glinting in them.



"Oh wow! Your hair is so soft!" Kiyone exclaimed, a strand of his ebony hair between her fingers. Within seconds, all of the girls (and Yumichika) were clustered around a mortified Yui's hair. The other males in the room were either laughing or in the case of Captain Ukitake, looking at him with a measure of sympathy.

"Hey! Leave my hair alone! Besides-it's not like it's staying, as soon as I can find a pair of scissors it's coming off!" he said. The girls, (and Yumichika) froze.

"Yui Kanan Uchiha, don't you _dare_ think about cutting it off," Tsunade threatened, cracking her knuckles. ((A/N: Kanan means 'fire calamity', somewhat appropriate, ne?))

"I agree, you look far better with long hair than you did with that horrible haircut you had before," Yumichika said primly, swatting the back of Yui's head for emphasis.

"But it's my hair!" Yui protested, waving his arms around and beating away the hands of his admirers. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to fight with hair this long? Let alone washing it!"

"So just braid it back like you used to," Masaki said, pulling a brush out of her bag and beginning carefully on his hair, starting at the bottom. Trying to twist around, he said "I am perfectly capable of brushing my own hair!"

"I'm sure you are, now stop squirming so much," Masaki replied absently as she continued to brush out his long hair, carefully working out the tangles in it. Around the room, the males all burst into a second round of snickers, Nell and Yachiru outright laughing.

Despite his protests, he found Masaki's gentle brushing to be very soothing and within a few minutes, his eyes had gone half-mast and he was all but putty in her hands.

--



Captain Kyoraku was in a very good mood. He had just been informed that his Vice-captain had woken up and was almost fully healed, thanks to that strange blond woman and her odd medical _jutsu_.

"Nanao-chaaaaaannnnnnn!" he sang as he flounced into the room. Nanao was sitting up in her bed, hair loose and her headband sitting in her lap. She jolted slightly, reflexively reaching for her glasses.

"Captain Kyoraku! What are you-" she started, jamming her glasses onto her face.

"Now now, did you really think that I wouldn't visit you?" he asked as he pulled up a chair and draped himself into it.

"I didn't think you'd want to be seen with a Shinobi," she said curtly. Captain Kyoraku frowned, "Well, I did want to talk to you about that," he admitted sheepishly. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, pulling out a bottle of sake, he said "Why did you never use any of your skills before now? I can think of one helluva lota situations where they would have been damned useful."

"That wasn't an option," she informed him dryly, "Surely you know about the general attitude regarding Shinobi? Most of us who are revealed are…disposed of quietly. We are either exiled or sent on impossible missions. That's after the Shinigami we worked with, fought with, excommunicated it while those from other divisions, and the more…extreme members of our own attacked us and made sure we knew we were not welcome."

Captain Kyoraku froze, her words flowing over him and hitting him with force equivalent to a sledgehammer. "W-what?" he said horasly, "Our Shinigami wouldn't…there's no way that…It can't be that bad! Why hasn't this been brought up to the counsel?"

Nanao laughed. It was a harsh and bitter laugh, and for a moment, she looked as old as the Commander. "Captain Kyoraku, the counsel _encourages_ this behavior."

"What?"



Nanao pursed her lips, shaking her head, "Captain, you saw what we did, and that was…very few of us. At any one time, the larger villages had between 4 and 7 thousand Shinobi. To those on the counsel, we are only one step up from hollows ourselves. We are killers for hire, after all."

Captain Kyoraku was, for once in a very long time, at a loss for words. "Huh?" was the only thing his numbed mind could force past his lips.

"You-how much do you know about Shinobi?" Nanao demanded.

"…Not a lot. The old geezers didn't mention them and got really angry when someone did," Captain Kyoraku said slowly.

Nanao sighed, "Shinobi…are trained from a young age, starting normally around five years of age, to become genin at somewhere around age twelve…" she explained the Shinobi ranking system, how they advanced, their skills and simply Shinobi in general. After she was done, Captain Kyoraku sat there in silence, absorbing all of the information.

"…what rank were you?" he asked at last, the silence growing too uncomfortable for him to stand.

"…Jonin," she said at last.

"Rangiku said that you didn't want me to be afraid of you," he said, then he smiled, "How could I be afraid of my cute little Nanao-chan?"

"Captain…" she started to say, then sighed and looked away, "I apologize."

"I only have one more question, why now? After going so far to hide your past, you all of a sudden decide to pick it up again, why?"



"That's…a very hard question to answer," she said slowly, "It's because…I am Shinobi. Even though I have been a Shinigami for over a hundred years, I was born Shinobi, and died Shinobi. My parents were Shinobi, my family was Shinobi. Being Shinobi is a part of me, as much as my Zanpakuto. It's…not easy to explain, or understand but I got tired of denying that part of me existed."

He sighed, this was a lot of information to take in at once, and he wasn't entirely sure how to handle it. Looking mournfully at his sake, untouched during the conversation, he said, "How many?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many of my men are Shinobi?" he clarified.

Nanao paused for a minute, "…Almost five hundred total," she said at last.

Wordlessly, Captain Kyoraku stood up and left, the bottle of sake remaining on the desk, still untouched. Nanao watched him leave, before allowing a single tear to trickle down her face. She turned to look out the window, through the gap in her curtains she could see him making his way out of the main hospital area, on his way to what she presumed to be one of his more favorite sitting spots.

"Give him some time," Tsunade advised, leaning against the door frame, "You dropped quite a bomb on him and he needs to adjust to it all."

"Tsunade-sempai? When did you get here?"

--+

Yui sighed, a short time ago, Captain Unohana had cleared the others out of his room, his students taking the bags full of new clothing with them, Rangiku digging through them and pulling out a navy blue gi and deep gray hakama.



Shaking his head, he stood, his braided hair swinging behind him as he picked up his clothes and changed. There was nothing physically wrong with him, Captain Unohana having checked him out thoroughly, Tsunade doing her own analysis.

They had promised to drop the rest of the clothing off at his room and take care of Nell for a while, so he could recover fully. Slipping into a set of sandals they had left for him, he glided out the door. He quietly slipped out of the door, waving to vice-captain Kotetsu on his way out. Simply walking was wonderful to him, his muscles were stiff from disuse and he enjoyed the chance to stretch them.

--

Captain Kyoraku leaned against the tree, staring out at the lake. His thoughts were swirling, running in patterns he wasn't sure he liked. He had heard about Shinobi before, at the academe, but only faint whispers. Sometimes, people who had come to the academe were killed by Shinobi and came there to get stronger, or someone had seen a Shinobi in action or lived in a Shinobi village. The stories they told were…disturbing to say the least.

He could not see his Nanao-chan as a cold and emotionless killer.

Whisper-soft footsteps brought him out of his thoughts quickly, mostly because he was alarmed that he hadn't felt the persons' energy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yui said as he noticed Captain Kyoraku sitting against the tree, "I didn't realize that you were here."

"It's fine," Captain Kyoraku said, "Can I ask you a question?" he asked suddenly as Yui was turning to leave. Pausing, Yui turned around again and sat down beside the Captain, "Sure, I can't guarantee that I have the answer though."

It was a while before Captain Kyoraku said anything, but that was fine with Yui, it was a nice day and he was in no hurry to go anywhere. And it looked like the Captain had a lot on his mind.

"Why…are there so many Shinobi here, if they know the risks involved?" he asked at last, the words falling slowly and heavily from his mouth.

Yui was silent for a time, thinking. "For the same reason that you are here," he said, "For some, to protect, some because they don't know how to do anything else, some because they want to avenge loved ones, the reasons are endless and there isn't one answer that I can give you. Honestly, the hardest part is training ourselves _not_ to react."

Yui caught Captain Kyoraku's searching look and sighed, "Shinobi are trained to have split-second reactions, to react and lash out at a threat and eliminate it the second we learn of its existence in the most efficient manner. We push our bodies to the limits of their capabilities, and surpass them. That's the main difference between Shinobi and Shinigami, aside from tactics and attack types." He paused, "Well, one of the larger ones, at any rate."

"I see," Captain Kyoraku said, looking out at the lake again.

"In some ways, I envy her," Yui said, "She was born as a peace-time Shinobi, and died before the second great war, so she never had to witness the horrors of Shinobi warfare."

He stood, "I'm not really the best person to ask about things like this, if you want a really accurate account of Shinobi lifestyle, go ask Tsunade-baa-chan. She worked with Vice-captain Ise and lived during the Second and Third war." He stood, just as a flood of Hollow reiatsu washed over him, and in the distance he could hear the alarm bell ringing, echoed by the all-call whistle for the Shinobi of Soul Society.

Captain Kyoraku was on his feet in seconds, moving as fast as he could to where he could feel the hollow's presence. Beside him, Yui was a blue and gray blur. Part way to the hollows, Captain Kyoraku changed direction, heading for the 8th division office to retrieve his Zanpakuto. Yui on the other hand, charged ahead.



Hollows were rampaging through the streets of Soul Society, catching the Shinigami completely unprepared, and the Shinobi were only slightly better off.

Caught without their Zanpakuto, they resorted to Kido and Hado, but the Kido often took too long and Hado was only effective if the one using it was very creative. This is where the Shinobi came in, their Jutsu took considerably less time to cast.

"Katon: Karyu Endan!" A blazing flame dragon roared down the street, incinerating two hollows before hitting a wall and fizzling out. Yui landed softly at street level amongst the multitude of Shinigami, frozen in their tracks by his attack. Sighing, he said, "There are still a lot of hollows around, you should probably go get your swords. As you can see, Kido take too long when dealing with this many opponents.

Shaking out of their daze, they ran off to do what this strange man said. Yui hopped up onto the roof across from where he was and looked out, taking aim he launched his second jutsu, "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" Mutable fireballs streaked across the sky, smashing into the masks of many of the Hollows, either killing them or stalling them long enough for someone else to kill them.

Around him, his brothers, his fellow Shinobi were fighting back just as quickly.

"Kaze no Yaiba!" one of them shouted, a blade made of wind cutting through the air in a wide ark, slicing through three hollows, one about to take off the head of a new Shinigami. Yui counted Shinobi from all thirteen divisions, working together in groups of three and four to counter the Hollow invasion while the Shinigami regrouped.

He was brought out of his musings as a Hollow approached him from behind. Ducking under the swing, he leaped back, his hands already in motion, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The Hollow disappeared in a giant ball of flame.

Smirking now, he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline flood his system. Distantly, he saw Captain Kyoraku standing just behind him, swords drawn and mouth hanging open.

"Wha-what the hell?"

"A simple C-rank Jutsu," Yui said, smiling, "About equal to a Kido in the 40s, give or take a little power, depending on the user."

"I'll say! You incinerated it completely!"

"Do we really have the time for this? You should ask Vice-Captain Ise for more details about Jutsu and their power relative to Kido, she should be arriving here soon."

Seconds later, Nanao shunpo'ed in, still in her hospital Yukata.

"Nanao-chan! What do you think you're doing?" Captain Kyoraku demanded, "You should be in the hospital, resting! And how on earth did you get away from Captain Unohana anyway?"

"Tsunade-chan cleared me for duty. And I'm fine. Medical Jutsu are far more effective than what is used now," Nanao said primly, pushing up her glasses. Her hair was held back in a simple high ponytail, she didn't have the time to clip it back like she usually did, and her feet were clad in the standard Shinobi boots instead of the straw sandals favored by Shinigami, her headband tied around her neck.

"Ah, speaking of Tsunade-baa-chan, she's not planning to fight as well, is she?" Yui asked nervously.

"No, she's at the fourth to help with the injured and defend the hospital, why?" 

"I just got out of the hospital, and if Tsunade-baa-chan finds out I'm fighting at all, she's going to send me through a wall or three. Or worse, she'll tell Nee-chan and Nee-chan is _scary _when she's angry," Yui explained, wincing at the thought of his sister on one of her rampages. Captain Kyoraku chuckled at the boy's plight.

"Then we'll just have to finish up quickly, won't we?" he asked and attacked a nearby hollow, killing it in seconds. Following his lead, the two Shinobi dashed after him, slaying hollows with a variety of jutsu.

By now, the Shinigami were fighting back, side-by-side with the Shinobi. It was all Yui could do to not grin like a mad man as he saw both Shinobi and Shinigami execute some amazing combination attacks. Soon, the last of the Hollows were dead, Yui watched with satisfaction as they were routed and destroyed with ease. Shaking his head, he looked at his clothes, the navy blue gi and gray hakama were splattered with blood and dust. Frowning, he wondered how long he had before the stains became permanent. As it happens, it was a moot point.

"**YUI KANAN UCHIHA! What the HELL do you think you're DOING?"** Yoruichi bellowed as she landed behind him, similarly covered in blood.

"Aw…damn it. Knew I forgot about something," he muttered, turning around to see a furious Yoruichi.

"What, in the name of all things even _remotely_ holy, do you think you're doing?" she hissed, golden eyes glaring at him.

"W-well, see, the hollows came and attacked and I was talking with Captain Kyoraku and I didn't think about it and ran to where they were and the Shinigami were being massacred because they didn't have any swords and Kido took too long to cast and the other Shinobi were already fighting back as best they could and-"

"I think she gets the point," Captain Kyoraku said, amused at his babbling. Thankfully, so was Yoruichi. But not that amused. Striding forward, she reached up, seized his ear and twisted violently. "Ow! Nee-chan, I'm attached to that-literally!" he yelped as she proceeded to drag him through the streets, ignoring both his pleas for release and the stares of the others, including all nine remaining captains. Captain Soifong watched in stunned amazement as her idol led the boy away, having blanked out the minute he had called Yoruichi-sama 'nee-chan'.

Shaking out of her daze, she ran after them, determined to get some answers.

--

So sorry that this chapter is late, my vacation was longer than I originally planned, and my parents are putting together a large yard sale that I got roped into helping set up for.


	29. 14th Sector

Chapter 29: 14th Segment

Yoruichi was not pleased. And when Yoruichi was not pleased, nobody around her was pleased. This was especially true when one of her boys had done something stupid (again) and she found out. Thus, the Shinigami and Shinobi of Soul Society were treated to the sight of the Shihoin Princess dragging a young man by his ear in the direction of the Fourth division, with Captain Soifong trailing the two of them.

Captain Soifong could not figure out this boys' connection to Yoruichi-sama, and it was irritating the hell out of her. When they were about halfway to the fourth division, three more boys, dressed in hospital Yukata appeared, and were summarily berated for being out of bed.

"Kai-no-BAKA! You aren't anywhere near healed enough to be outside, let alone standing! Yuri, what do you think you're doing? You broke your leg in three different places and now you're putting weight on it?"

"Well…They gave me so many painkillers that I don't really feel anything at all right now so…"

"That's not the point damn it!" Yoruichi snapped as she added a lump on the head to his list of injuries. Captain Fong watched in amazement as she berated the four boys for fighting the hollows, especially the three who weren't even released from the hospital yet. A blond woman with a bust to rival vice-captain Matsumoto showed up next, whom Yoruichi took great joy in relating exactly what 'her boys' had done. Eyebrow twitching, she seized two of them, the red head and the one with strange green hair by the ears and dragged them back to the fourth division. Yoruichi followed with Yui and the one with pale blue hair in tow.

After the four boys had been handed back to the less-than-pleased med-nin of Division four, Yoruichi and the woman (who she remembered as being Tsunade) turned, two pairs of sharp eyes narrowing in on her hiding place.

"You can come out now, we know you're there," Tsunade said dryly, "You're really not that good at hiding your presence."



Glaring at the blond, Captain Soifong stepped out of hiding.

"So, want to tell us why you were tailing us for so long?" Tsunade asked, crossing her arms. "I simply wanted to find out what the connection was between Yoruichi-sama and those boys," Captain Soifong said, "Not that it's any of your business, you heathen woman."

"What the Hell did you just call me, you Bitch?" Tsunade snarled, her reiatsu flaring in response.

"You heard me, what is your connection to Yourichi-sama and why do those boys call her by such a disrespectful name as 'nee-chan'?" Captain Soifong spat out. Yoruichi looked at her for a long minute than laughed, "Come on, it's a long story. Oh, and if I were you, I'd take back what you said about Tsunade-chan, she'll throw you through a wall-or four."

--

* * *

It was some time later that week that they were finally freed from the hospital, and called directly to General Yamamoto's office. Arriving there, they were admitted into the long office that belonged to the Commander of Soul Society.

"I see that you are doing better," General Yamamoto said as the boys kneeled in front of him.

"Yes, Tsunade-baa-chan and Captain Unohana are very good healers," Yui replied. Beside him, Kai snorted. Yui ignored him, "I can't help but think that our health is the only reason that you've called us."

"You are correct," General Yamamoto said, "Your brothers said that the Shinobi had decided that they would no longer be hiding, correct?"

"Yes," Yui said, wondering where this was going.



"Tell me, If I were to integrate the Shinobi here with Second division, what would happen?" General Yamamoto asked, his eyes locked on Yui's light blue-gray eyes.

"I…don't think that it would work the way that you would want it to," he said after a moment of thought.

"Explain."

"The Shinigami of second division are well trained, yes, but…their overall style of combat is too…Samurai to blend well with Shinobi style combat."

"Oh?" an unspoken order for him to continue.

"Shinobi rely on far more varied styles of combat, there could be ten members of one team and all of them will have a totally different fighting style. Because of that, we're trained to adapt quickly to all kinds of situations, and to fight beside those fight differently than us. In second division, their fighting styles are almost carbon copies of each other, or at least the basics are. Have you ever watched them train? Whenever they work in groups, they aren't fighting at full efficiency because their attacks are getting in the way of each other, because they've just been thrown onto the field and told to fight together, they just don't know how." Yui said as he racked his brain for information regarding the second division.

"If you were to try and force the two groups together…the basic combat styles clash, it'd take a lot of work for us to work together with any kind of efficiency, and that's not taking into account morals, mentalities and personalities of the individuals," Yui finished, locking eyes with the General.

"Yoruichi and Kisuki told me much the same thing," General Yamamoto said, stroking his beard thoughtfully, "And to add to the complications, the nobles are demanding that something be done with the Shinobi. They would prefer that I exile them all," he looked over the boys, judging their reactions. Yuri was impossible to read, his face a blank and emotionless mask, except for his eyes which were…thoughtful. One could almost see the gears turning in his head, piecing together the whole picture from the clues he was given.

Akira was…interested, but not overly concerned.

Kai was irritated. It was obvious he didn't like being led along like this.

Yui was thoughtful, his light eyes calm and calculating.

"Therefore, I have decided…to create a new organization, specifically for Shinobi."

And there it was, General Yamamoto had the distinct honor to be one of the selected few to simultaneously stun all four boys into silence. Kai's jaw had unhinged and it took him a second to re-attach it, and when he did he tried to say something, anything, only to be unable to form words. Yuri just…sat there, he had expected a separate division, not an entirely new organization! Akira had frozen and if it wasn't for the shallow rise and fall of his chest, one would have thought he was a statue. Yui simply stared, eyes wide and uncomprehending at the General.

Kai was the first one to move; he thumped the side of his head muttering "I have got to remember to clean out my ears more often; I coulda sworn I heard him say he wanted to create a new organization…"

"That is exactly what I said," General Yamamoto said, one could almost hear him smirking, "And I'm putting the four of you in charge."

When Murphy's law goes into effect, this is what happens. That, or fates' a bitch, but you already knew that, didn't you?

"You…can't be…serious!" Yuri sputtered at last after several minutes of trying to force sound out of his un-cooperating mouth.



"On the contrary, I am very serious," General Yamamoto said, "I have spoken to both Yoruichi and Kisuki about the four of you, they have told me the most interesting stories about your…exploits. You are the best choices that I know of for this."

"But-but-but-but we don't know a thing about starting an organization!" Kai sputtered, "And where are we going to be located? All the available land from here to tenth district has already been used! All that's left now is small patches that wouldn't be large enough to sustain something of this size!"

"There is one place, the forest area under execution hill," the General said mildly.

"That's all trees," Akira mused, "There's too many there to pull up, the roots are so thick and deep, it would take months just to clear out. And on top of that, the trees are thick, not to mention the branches themselves, that trying to pull out any of them without cutting them from the tops down is going to be a job and a half."

"Regardless, that is what I have been able to get for you," the General said, "The nobles were unwilling to grant you even that much, but due the circumstances I was able to make them see my point. I want an outline on how you are going to construct your division within the month. You are dismissed."

The four boys walked out, slightly dazed at the task that they had been given.

"Well, I do believe that was one of the few times they have all been dazed at the same time," Tsunade said as she entered from the door located behind his chair.

"Thank-you, but are you sure that less than one month is going to be enough?" General Yamamoto asked the blond woman. Tsunade chuckled, "Trust me, it's more than enough. Those boys thrive under circumstances that would destroy others."

"I hope you're right," the General said, "Our fate, and the fate of both worlds may depend on them pulling off a miracle."



* * *

--

The boys had gathered in Yuri's room, it being the biggest despite the stacks and stacks of carefully stored manga. They were sprawled out across the room, sheets of paper strewn around them with half baked plans and semi-workable schemes discarded for one reason or another.

"So, what do we do? The best plan we've had yet is digging underground, but that has its own problems," Kai said from Yuri's futon, which had been placed on a board with four boxes under it at each corner to give him more storage space. Currently, Kai was draped upside down over the side of the bed, his blood red hair brushing against the floor.

"If you stay like that, you may cause yourself brain damage, you can't really afford more, can you?" Yuri sniped calmly from his desk, "I think that the most logical course of action would be to go and take a look at the land we were given to work with, then go from there. Planning with a lack of information doesn't do us any good."

"He's right," Yui said standing, "Let's go."

They made their way there in under fifteen minutes, opting to use the standard Shinobi way of travel. The forest loomed in front of them, dark and un-inviting.

"Kinda reminds you of the Forest-of-Death, doesn't it," Akira murmured as he inspected the trunk of a particularly large tree.

Kai wasted no time in leaping up to the first set of branches and peered through the gloom created by lack of light. "Branches on this first level look pretty thick," he shouted, walking around the circumference of the branch, "I'd say it's about…three feet thick! And damn solid too!"

"Actually, all the trees here are remarkably solid," Akira commented, laying a hand gently on one of the smooth tree trunks and inhaled sharply.



"What is it?" Yui asked worriedly, noting the expression on his brother's face.

"These trees…they're absorbing spirit energy! That's why they're so strong and large, it's like a giant reservoir of power, and it replenishes itself! Yui, I've never seen anything like it," Akira trailed off, devoting his mind to fully tracing the energy's path. His eyes snapped open and he spun around, locking eyes with Yui, "There's a mako vein right underneath our feet, feeding the trees!"

--

* * *

They had relocated to one of the conference rooms that Kai had been able to sweet-talk (read: flirt with) one of the younger librarians to letting them use for the rest of the month. He smirked, running a hand through his already-messed up hair, his brothers shaking their heads in amusement (or exasperation).

"Now, back to business," Yuri said, drawing their attention to a large piece of paper on the center of the table. On the paper itself was what could only be described as a mess of lines, circles and words. Beside the paper, was a thick manga volume, laid flat open showing what appeared to be a city suspended between stone towers…

"Can we do this? It seems to be one of our only two viable options at this time," Yuri said, going over his calculations again, for the fourth time.

"It doesn't look like we have any choice," Yui responded, "The mako vein runs in so many streams, we'd have to pull them out of the ground before we could safely dig through it, and then there's the problem of all the roots. Together, they create a damn network, we'd be lucky to get three feet deep."

"Great, but what about the cave system that I found?" Kai asked, leaning his chair back on two legs.

"No-go," Akira replied, "they're filled with so much mako right now, it'd be dangerous for anyone to get near them, we'll have to find something to do with all of that. I estimate that there's at least….two hundred pounds of it sitting there now, and that's just in the first two levels."



"Greeaaattt," Kai drawled, "We're sitting on what amounts to a giant bomb. Does anyone _else_ think that's going to be a problem?"

"I have an idea to get rid of that, actually," Yui said, looking up from the mess of papers that he was working on, "It's only dangerous in its liquid form, so if we can crystallize it, then it will be harmless."

"You have a plan, don't you," Yuri asked, shooting a glance at his younger brother.

"Yup. If it works, we won't have to worry about outside lighting," Yui commented as he continued his calculations.

"He-lllooo" Rangiku sang as she waltzed through the door, two bags of steaming food swinging from her hands. "So what's this about a new organization?"

"Food!" Kai cheered as he made a grab for the bags, forgetting momentarily that he had leaned his chair back and ended up sprawling on the ground. He grumbled and glared at his brothers, who were enjoying a good laugh at his expense.

While they cleared a space for the food, they filled her in on what their orders were, and over lunch they outlined their plans. Rangiku sat there and listened to what seemed to her a crazy idea. What was worse, it was actually possible.

"Wow…that…would be amazing to see…" Rangiku said, her lunch all but forgotten.

"Well, if I can get my calculations right, we'll be needing your help," Yui said as he triple-checked his calculations.

"What for?" Rangiku asked, confused.



"There's about two hundred pounds of liquid mako under our building site," Yui explained absentmindedly, "That's not good for non-cetra, and even then we can only stand it for a short time. Having it just sit there is an accident waiting to happen."

"So…what are you going to do to it?" Rangiku asked, worried about the sheer amount of toxic (for most people) substance just sitting around.

"We're going to crystallize it," Yui replied, "In its crystal form, it's harmless, and a great power amplifier."

--

* * *

The four of them stood in front of the General, outline in hand as they proceeded to explain what they had come up with.

"That…is a very original idea," the general said after they had finished, "I trust that you will be able to make it work?"

"We wouldn't have come if we didn't think we could do it," Yui said, rolling up the building plans. "We need to go over the technical ideas still, to make sure that everything will hold. We're not engineers or builders so all of this is still hypothetical."

"Do what you can and come back to me when you have it all sorted out," the General said, dismissing them.

--

* * *

Kisuki looked over the plans, pen in hand, 'humm'ing and 'uhuh'ing as he looked over the plans the boys had thrown at him.

"Well, it looks good from where I'm standing, but I'm not a builder," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I know someone who is though, let me borrow these for a while and I'll get back to you," he said, rolling up the papers.

--

* * *

One week later, posters appeared, announcing the impending creation of a new organization, strictly for Shinobi. Word spread like wildfire among the Shinigami as the Shinobi of Soul Society awoke and rose again, ready to fight the only way that they knew how.

The meeting room they had rented out became something of a recruitment center, where they took turns handing out copies of the building plans and transfer forms. The general plan was that they would stay in their rooms until the housing at the as-of-yet unnamed organization was sorted out.

However, at this time, there was a reasonably large group of people gathered in the heart of what would soon become the new organization.

"So what are we doing again?" Rangiku asked.

Yui suppressed a sigh and, for the sixth time, explained what they were going to do, "We are going to pull the mako that is under ground up and into the trees and anchor it there. "

"From what you told us, it seems like a lot of work," Captain Ukitake commented, raising an eyebrow.

"It is, but if it works, then it'll be worth it," Akira said, "Adding that much mako to the trees should accelerate their growth, making them not only taller, but stronger. By the time that we're done, they should be able to easily bear the weight of the platforms, as well as whatever we build on the platforms."



"Why don't you just use the liquid stuff?" Captain Hitsugaya said, huffing irritably, his Vice-Captain had all but dragged him here, saying she needed him for moral support.

"Because, the 'liquid stuff' is going t serve a totally different purpose," Yui said, looking around at the small clearing that they had chosen as the 'Heart' of the organization. "We're going to use it, but not until after the platforms are built. Once they're in place, we're going to weave the mako around the platforms, locking them in place."

"Will you have enough?" Kiyone asked, "Two hundred pounds of that stuff is a lot, but from the building plans, the place is going to be really big!"

"We'll have plenty," Kai said, waving away her concern, "If two hundred pounds aren't enough, then we'll get the stuff that's farther down! I estimate at least another three hundred pounds of the stuff."

"That much?" Masaki said, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"No, that is at least four to six hundred feet beneath the surface, located under solid bedrock. It's no danger. The only stuff that poses an immediate risk is the two hundred pounds located closer to the surface," Yuri said.

"Well, let's get started," Yui said, dragging Rangiku out into the center of the clearing, "You guys just stay there!" he shouted back to the others who remained at the tree line. Rangiku found herself kneeling between Yui and Akira. After a second, everyone was where they were supposed to be, one hand touching the earth, the person on their right covering that hand with their own, while their left hand covered the person on their left.

"Ready? Just stretch your senses down, feel the mako underneath us and _pull_," Yui murmured, a pale silver glow forming around him, his eyes half open. Beside her, Akira had a deep, mossy green aura around him, Yuri had an icy blue aura and on Yui's other side, Kai had a fierce bloody crimson aura. She felt Yui give her a mental nudge and she closed her eyes, following their lead.



Under them, she could feel the strands of energy, pulsing and ready to burst out of the ground. Carefully, she pulled at a few of the strands, coaxing them up and out of the ground, into the trees. The boys were much more…enthusiastic about the task, grabbing what amounted to fistfuls of the thousands of threads and threw them into the trees.

The others at the tree line watched as first the five in the center of the clearing began to glow, then in awe as pale green strands floated up, a few at first and them more, so many that it was impossible to count. They surged out, covering the distance between the epicenter and the tree line in seconds. The first of the strands hit the trees and went past them, one strand to each tree, sinking deep into the wood.

The bystanders watched in awe as above their heads a virtual web of energy wove itself into the surrounding forest. The trees that were touched first began to glow, then the ones behind them, and farther back until all of the trees within sight were glowing with an inner light.

"Beautiful," Masaki whispered, afraid of breaking the moment. Silently, all of the others agreed with her, it was indeed a beautiful sight.

Around them, the forest shifted and groaned. The already large trees absorbing the mako and ,growing. All the trees within a five hundred yard radius of the boys, practically the entire forest, shot up, their trunks becoming mammoth-sized. Half an hour later, the trees were four times their original size, the roots covering the ground to the point that no dirt was able to be seen. What was even more amazing was that all of the underbrush and smaller trees had been either covered up or worked into the mammoth trees.

The glow around the five faded, then disappeared completely. Their eyes opened and they took in their work.

The forest floor was dark and cool, the tops of the trees far above them, blocking the sunlight. The roots of the trees had created a dome as they grew around the five of them, each of the roots about a foot thick. The boys and Rangiku pulled themselves out of the dome and looked around, admiring their work.



The trees themselves stretched up, high into the air, their tops lost amongst the foliage. The trunks of the trees were…calling them large was an understatement. Akira walked back to the original tree line where the bystanders were still frozen in awe and kicked the trunk of the nearest tree.

Smirking, he said "Now we can begin. These are solid all the way through, they'll hold."

--

The very next day, after explaining to the not-so-amused General just what the hell they did, construction began on the new organization. The gigantic trees were cut carefully, so that they didn't fall on a) something important, like people or b) backwards into the forest.

From there, the trees were trimmed, becoming three foot thick beams that became the framework for the large platforms that were to become the base for the entire organization. The branches were thick enough, and wide enough that they became wooden planks, several inches thick that were placed over the web of beams. Because of all the mako that was in the wood, there was little chance of it rotting, or breaking. Though it made it hard to nail the wood together…

It was an impressive operation, the teamwork that was used on such a large scale was simply amazing. Before dawn, the sound of hammers, saws, jutsu and the occasional curse could be heard from what had become known as the 14th Sector, despite being a completely separate organization.

Of course, there was the small problem of getting to the 14th Sector…

Masaki and the twins stood under one of the platforms, looking up in either irritation(Karin) or wonder (Yuzu and Masaki).

"Did you three need to get up there?" Kai asked, dropping to the ground easily.



"Yes, I brought some lunch for Isshin and Ichigo, seeing as it's past lunch time but…" Masaki sighed, "There doesn't seem to be any way up."

Kai grinned, a mischievous glint coming to his golden eyes. "Ne, you have a good hold on that basket?" he asked just before sand swirled around their feet, creating a platform that moved over to one of the nearest trees. The sand shifted around them, becoming something like a sandy elevator car as they moved upward.

"Whoa!" Karin said looking down, then at the side of the tree, where it met the sand, "Can you teach me how to do this?"

Kai laughed, "Sorry, it's limited to me and my father."

Their ride came to a halt right at the edge of the platform. "Alright, rides' over, off you get I have work to do," Kai grumbled as he gently shoved the three girls off of his sand.

The platform that they were one was one of the larger ones, at least four hundred yards from end to end, and almost entirely circular. Ichigo and Isshin were easy to find, Ichigo's hair acting like a homing becon as the three girls carefully made their way along the half-finished platform. Not that they would have had to worry, each of the beams were easily large enough to walk on. As long as one was careful, there really wasn't any risk of falling off.

Ichigo looked up, seeing his mother and two sisters approaching he set down his hammer and sat back, eyeing the basket that Masaki was carrying. Isshin, who was working beside his son, stopped as well.

"Masaki-chan! You've come to save us from the horrors of the excuse they call food!" Isshin cheered, only for a block of wood to be flung at the back of his head.

"I'll have you know there's nothing wrong with our food," Akira commented, another block of wood bouncing easily in the palm of his hand.



"Oh? It's tasteless, bland, and completely unrecognizable as food!"

Akira laughed, "Welcome to the wonders of army food," he said, sitting down and pulling a rice bowl out from…somewhere.

"Army food," Isshin sputtered, "I've worked in Soul Society for years before I met Masaki and we were never subjected to _that_!"

"Well, Soul Society isn't much of an army," Yui said, Yuri standing right behind him, food in hand. "Do you mind if we join you?"

"No, not at all, more the merrier," Masaki said. Yui and Yuri sat down, pulling out their own lunch, rice and some unidentifiable…stuff. Isshin turned green watching them nonchalantly shovel the food into their mouths, "I can't believe you are able to eat that stuff!"

"Years of practice," Kai said, joining the group, his own bowl of rice and mysterious substance in his hands.

"You shoulda seen what we had to eat during the war," Yui said, taking unholy amusement at Isshin's weak stomach, "that makes this stuff look like food from a five star restaurant."

"Like what?" Karin asked, morbidly curious.

"Well…there was the time we had snake," Yui said, thinking outloud.

"Hey! Now that wasn't bad, better then the rat we had that one time," Kai protested, "Compared to that, there was nothing wrong with the snake."

"True. But all of that is topped by the time Kai and Yui ate bugs."

The Kurosaki family as one turned to look at the two boys.

Yui blushed, "What? We were hungry, there was nowhere to stop and eat, and it's not like they tasted bad or anything!"

"Yeah, compared to the ration bars, they were the best meal we'd had all week!" Kai said, defending himself and his slightly mortified brother.

"Still, you don't have any room to talk," Yui said, grinning evilly, "Remember that time on the Iwa border when you ate worms because you refused to eat another ration bar?"

"Alright, alright! Enough! The rest of us want to eat, not hear about the odd things you've eaten!" Ichigo yelled, having reached his limit. Akira and Kai laughed, while Yui and Yuri had the good graces to look mildly sheepish. Lunch descended into easy conversation until Karin blurted, "Did you really eat rats? And bugs?"

"Aww, Karin!" Isshin moaned, "At least wait until we finish lunch!" The boys all laughed.

--

It was after lunch, dusk was falling and construction for the day was coming to a close. Ichigo was standing there, holding a thermos of tea, thinking. His thoughts ran in dark circles, twisting like shadowy snakes in the back of his mind.

"Yen for your thoughts?" Kai asked, sauntering up to the boy. Dark brown eyes flickered to the youth, then back to the dark ground below them, "Don't think they're worth that much," he said at last, a sad attempt at humor.

"Actually, I'm here on business," Kai said, leaning on the half finished rail that had been put up earlier that day, "My brothers and I need your help on some…tactical matters."

Ichigo looked at the smirking red-head, "Tactical matters? Why me, wouldn't it be better to ask my old man how to fight hollows or whatever."

"Normally yes, but you're one of three that has been inside Huce Mundo and lived to tell about it, and we need to know what you do if we're going to stand any chance of getting your friends back out."

Ichigo staired, the thermos dropping from numb hands as the tea spilled over the fresh wood.

"W-what?"

--

And we're done! At about five thousand words, chapter 29 is finished.


	30. Jailbreak Blues

* * *

So sorry for the long wait! School's a b, and I haven't gotten into the rhythm quite yet.

My muses died on me…I haven't found replacements quite yet-I'm looking into it right now.

Chapter 30- Jailbreak Blues

Ichigo felt his jaw drop as Kai's words penetrated his brain.

"Wha…?"

"Well, it's all Akira's crazy plan," Kai said, ignoring Ichigo, "He thinks it would be a good way to get back in shape. All things considered, with a good plan, it shouldn't be that hard to get in and out quickly."

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo demanded, "We had one hell of a time getting in there, the place was crawling with hollows!"

Kai sighed good naturedly, "Yes, and from what Renji-baka and Nell-chan said, you basically barged your way in, at full blast letting everyone in the vicinity know where you were. And to make matters worse, you split up, making yourselves easy targets. You did good for what you did, don't get me wrong, you just weren't prepared for something like that."

"Oh? And what's this grand plan of yours?" Ichigo demanded, angry at the red-headed Shinobi.

"One word, my berry-headed friend, Henge."

One 'poof' of smoke later and there was a second Ichigo standing there. "Wah!" Ichi-1 yelped, jumping back in surprise. Ichi-2 smirked, "With this Jutsu we can impersonate any hollow we want, even create 'original' hollows. It also takes an almost unnoticeable amount of spirit energy so Aizen won't be able to detect it." He dropped the illusion, "So, about that information…"

* * *

--

"This is crazy," Ichigo muttered, "We are going to get killed."

"We won't if you shut up and play along," Yuri hissed, his grip on Ichigo's arm tightening.

"Quiet," Yui's voice cut through their banter like a hot knife, "It's Showtime."

The mostly-disguised group of Hollows stopped in front of the massive gates of Huce Mundo. They waited patiently, Ichigo calling on all of his acting ability to act like the beaten and broken prisoner that he was pretending to be.

They didn't have to wait long. The fourth espada greeted them as the gates swung open. "Aizen-sama is expecting you, follow me." With liquid ease, the five hollows followed him, dragging a 'protesting' Ichigo along.

They didn't know how long they followed the espada, only that they could barely keep track of the twists and turns that they took. Not that it mattered much, they weren't planning on going out the same way that they came in anyway…

It was about ten minutes into their journey that they finally came to a stop. Another set of large doors stood in front of them. Without pausing, their guide kept walking, the doors opening automatically for him. The room beyond had all of the other espada gathered, with Aizen sitting in a throne-like chair, high above the ground.

"So, who do we have here," Aizen said, his voice silky smooth and his Reiatsu filling the room, thickening the air. It was all that they could do to keep their henge in place, Ichigo had the hardest time, having learned it only a few days ago. Though it was phrased as a question, they remained silent. It was all Ichigo could do to keep silent, the kunai jabbing into his back may have had something to do with that.

"How did you manage to capture Kurosaki-kun? He obviously did not come with you willingly…"

"It was not difficult," Yui's voice was chilling. Cold and emotionless, he spoke in a monotone that made Ichigo very glad that he could not see him. "The fool all but stumbled into our camp."

Aizen smirked, he was not surprised. The boy was brash and hard-headed, it was exactly the kind of thing that he would do. "And why did you bring him here?"

Cold orange eyes met his as Yui said simply, "A show of good faith."

"Oh?"

"You are winning. We had decided that if it looked as though you had a good chance of winning, we would throw our lot in with yours," Akira drawled, sounding bored.

"I do not remember seeing you before," One of the espada said, accusation lacing his voice.

"We don't get out much," Yuri said, his icy voice like nails across a chalkboard.

"That is enough, new members are always welcome here," Aizen said, raising a hand to stop further arguments, "And the names of our newest members?"

"Kannan" Yui said, looking Aizen straight in the eyes and making his eyes glow.

Yuri was "Suzaku."

Kai had chosen "Shukaku."

Akira took the name "Abbadon."

And Yoruichi had chosen the name "Nekomata."

Aizen leaned back, seemingly satisfied with his newest warriors. "Very well, and as for your first order, I would like you to continue…escorting Kurosaki-kun to the prison cells. I'm sure he is very anxious to see his dear nakama again."

"As you wish, Aizen-sama," Yui said, his voice the same monotone it had been during the entire ordeal.

--

* * *

A non-descript Espada was waiting for them outside the throne room. He wordlessly led them through the twisting labyrinth halls of Huce Mundo, the white halls throwing off their sense of direction. The Espada led them to a hallway with a black glyph etched into the stone.

"This is the prision sector," the Espada said, placing a hand on the seal. The wall disintegrated, showing a hall with iron bars lining each side. "The bars cannot be broken, and the Shinigami are wearing limiters anyway."

"Thanks!" Kai chirped, his sand wrapping firmly around the unfortunate Espada. "You've been a great help, but now ya gotta die." With an audible squelching sound, the sand contracted and turned red.

Ichigo looked sick as the other five dropped the Henge. "What? You expected us to be nice about it? We're Shinobi-we don't do nice, at least not on missions." Kai said as he passed the shell-shocked berry-head.

"Hello there! We'll be your saviors today, so sit tight, follow our orders and try to stay out of our way," Yoruichi said to the shocked Shinigami and humans.

"How-" Rukia started to say, her voice harsh and cracked.

"Later, later," Akira said gently, pulling the bars apart, "Just sit tight half-pint. We'll get you lot outta here."

Seeing the shape that the rescue-ees were in, Kai created a sand platform that would carry them out. "All abord, keep hands, feet and limbs inside the sand at all times unless you want to lose them and please remember to duck should someone be fireing at you," Kai informed them, "And try not to get any more blood in my sand."

The five of them stared at the redhead. Yuri sighed, "Ignore him," he advised, "It's his way of dealing with the stress, that and he took one too many hits to the head."

"Moving along now," Yui said, "We should get going before Aizen catches on." That sobered them up quickly, and they raced through the corridors. Unfortunately, Aizen was not as complacent as they were hoping. Behind them, they heard the battle cry of several dozen lower-level hollows, probably sent to slow them down.

"Aw damn," Kai said, "Pick it up guys- they're gaining and they look really pissed!"

Not really needing the prompting, they none the less sped up, emerging into the brightly lit cavern. They raced along the bridge, spinning around when they reached a wide circular platform.

"Alright! Let's do it!" Kai cheered, a firey red aura flaring around him.

Yuri shook his head, "You never change." Underneath him, ice seemed to be crystallizing.

Akira shook his head, "I'll sit this one out, thanks. Deserts aren't conductive to plants."

Yui smiled, tilting his head. "Fine, we should be enough to take care of this, though Ixion would be a good idea," he smirked, "Just don't call her a pony again and you should be ok." Around him, circles were appearing.

"Fine," Akira said. By now the others were past panicking. The hollows were closing in fast, and the three of them were just standing around.

"Summoning: Ifrit!"

"Summoning: Shiva!"

"Summoning: Bahamut!"

"Summoning: Ixion."

Around Kai, the ground cracked and exploded upward in a blast of flames, a demon appearing from the stone. It charged the hollows, mowing a path through them as Kai landed gracefully.

From Yuri, the exact opposite happened. Ice materialized behind him, dropping from the sky as a woman appeared, trapped inside the ice. She opened her eyes and the ice exploded outward. Now that they could see her, they noticed two things right away-she had blue skin and wasn't wearing much more than a bikini and a shawl. The latter of which she tossed to Yui, who wrapped it around his shoulders as the woman joined her counterpart in battle.

Akira's summon was next, and it's appearance was much less flashy than the first two. A circle made of pure thunder formed above him, creating a gateway. Beyond it, they could see a multi-colored, shapeless realm. From this realm emerged what could only be a unicorn, lightning sparking at its' heals.

Yui's was the last, the purple energy turned green, forming streamers that took the shape of a mighty dragon. With a spine-chilling roar, the green light fractured, leaving a great iron plated dragon resting easily on the platform.

All of this took about three minutes.

While the summons were tearing through the hollows, (and enjoying themselves immensely), Kai's sand lifted them up onto the back of the gigantic dragon. Once everyone was on, Kai's sand acting as a seatbelt, the dragon took to the air, an energy beam ripping through the roof.

Once they were clear, Bahamut put on as much speed as he could, determined to outrace the impending counter attack. Behind them, the other three summons were causing as much damage and confusion as they could, while they could. And they were causing quite a bit-no one, even Aizen, knew how to defend against these creatures. They were using a completely different power, one that he didn't know how to counter.

For the first time in many years, he felt the stirrings of unease.

The demons, for what else could they be, tore through the ranks of hollows like they were wet paper. The Espada and higher ranking ones were not fairing too much better, getting knocked around quite a bit, though none of them died. The strange creatures were strangely resilient, and their injuries were healing even as they fought, and there seemed to be a thread of energy connecting

And it looked like his prisoners had gotten away.

--.--.--.--.--.--.--

* * *

"…And after that, we met up with Kurosaki-san and jii-san and came back," Yui said as he finished recounting their mission to the assembled captains.

For a long minute, nobody spoke. The story…sounded beyond comprehension, but it made an odd kind of sense. Aizen was overconfident, he _knew_ Shinigami, he knew them like the back of his hand. But what he didn't know were Shinobi, and their odd 'summons'.

They had seen the proof themselves-having witnessed their landing on the dragon Bahamut just outside the gates of Soul Society.

"Of course, you realize that we won't be able to get away with this a second time," Yuri said, sobering the room. "He was overconfident, and we exploited that fact ruthlessly. He won't be so easy to trick next time-he'll be on the lookout for stunts like this one."

"Yeah-Aizen's a bastard, but he's not an idiot," Akira agreed, "On the plus side, we gained a bit of time. Our Aeons tore quite a hole in his forces. Most of his cannon fodder is gone, they were feeling particularly vindictive this time around. What worries me is that they didn't see any of Orochimaru's creations slithering around."

"We will worry about that at a later date," General Yamamoto said, "For now, you have done a wonderful job. Get some rest-I do not want Yoruichi or that grandmother of yours after me because you passed out on your way back to the 14th."

With that the General of Soul Society stood and made his way out of the meeting hall, leaving a room of shocked people.

"….Is it me or did old man Yama make a joke?" Captain Kyoraku asked, voicing everyone else's' thoughts. Seeing as it was around three in the morning, everyone decided that it would be best if they simply put it out of their minds and made for their beds.

It was four weary boys that made their way into the small, rough apartment that had been forced on them by…just about all of the Shinobi. Instead of barracks, it had been unanimously decided that each 'team' of four or so people would live in an apartment. Of course, they were organized, and built in the standard Shinobi style of wherever they would fit. There were plans for a larger apartment complex for those who hadn't been put into a team yet that was half finished, where some of the Shinobi were staying already. However, seeing as the four boys all but lived at the construction site even when it was still skeleton frames suspended in the trees, the plans got changed a bit and the boys found themselves in the first apartment complex by popular demand.

For once, they were grateful, barely having the energy to strip out of their mission clothes and pull the covers around themselves before they blacked out.

--

* * *

When they awoke, it was too the smells of food coming from their small, rarely used kitchen.

Kai was the first to awaken, following his nose, he emerged from his room clad in his boxers to find Masaki at the stove, a platter of pancakes and four plates on the table. He blinked, nowhere near fully awake, and upon seeing the coffee, made a beeline for the black fuel that had become a household staple.

He had downed a cup before he noticed who was standing beside him. Half-awake golden eyes looked at her curiously. "What'cha doin' here so early?" he asked once his sleep deprived brain caught up with him.

"Tsunade-chan told me how tired you would be after a mission like that, so I thought that I would make you some breakfast so you didn't have to cook," Masaki said, flipping something in one of the pans on the stove.

"Oh, thanks…" Kai said, not sure how to respond. People usually didn't do this kind of stuff for them.

"Are your brothers going to be up any time soon?" Masaki asked.

"Nah. They aren't morning people. Yui and Akira like to sleep for as long as they can, and Yuri has low blood sugar so he's going to be out of it for a while even after he wakes up," Kai shook his head, "Yui only gets up in the mornings if he has too. Otherwise he would happily sleep till noon. Akira usually stays up late, drinking with his friends and sleeps off his hangover. I'm the only one that gets up voluntarily, so I get breakfast duty most of the time."

He shrugged and poured himself another cup of coffee, "Yui had to force me to learn to cook so he wouldn't have to get up too early in the morning."

Masaki laughed, a light tinkling sound as she thought of the redheaded hyperactive young man being forced to learn how to cook.

Kai pouted, "Oi, it's not that funny! It was a matter of survival, jii-chan can't cook, and nee-chan won't cook."

"And you can barely manage a basic breakfast," Akira said, dressed in only a pair of loose drawstring pants. He poured himself a cup of coffee, "Old habits die hard?"

"Yeah, still can't sleep in, unlike those two lucky bastards," Kai groused, glaring at his door. Akira laughed and explained, "He can't sleep too much past eight in the morning if he tried, I'm surprised that he slept as long as he did."

The kitchen was filled with laughter as the two boys took turns telling embarrassing stories about the sleeping duo's misadventures, while Masaki responded with stories about a young Ichigo and her husband.

"What," Yuri said from the doorway to his and Akira's room, his voice icy cold, "Is with all the noise so early in the damn morning?" Dressed in flannel pants and a white muscle shirt, he was by far dressed more than his brothers.

"Masaki-chan made us breakfast!" Kai said happily, ignoring his brothers' death-glare with the ease of long practice and holding up a piece of French toast. Yuri took a moment to ponder this, kill his brothers or fresh breakfast….

He sighed and headed for the coffee pot, downing a cup of strong black coffee and starting a new one. He sat down, pulling the plate of pancakes towards him and dousing them with syrup. Digging into them, he solidly ignored the snickers coming from his red-headed brother, opting to calmly flip him off. Masaki frowned and hit him lightly with the spatula. He turned and glared at her, she raised an eyebrow, "Don't be rude."

His glare turned darker, she turned back to the pans and flipped the pancake she had going. Kai clutched his gut, trying to suppress his laughter. It wasn't often someone outside the 'family' could withstand Yuri's Glare-of-impending-doom, and even rarer to do it with such class!

"Wa's alla' no's?" Yui slurred, rubbing one eye blearily while stumbling out of his' and Kai's room, almost tripping upon entering the kitchen. He was about as underdressed as Akira and Kai, and not awake enough to be embarrassed about it. He absently dragged a hand through his loose black locks, wincing when he hit snarls.

"Breakfast," Kai said, shoving a plate and cup of coffee under his brothers' nose. Smelling the coffee, he downed it and passed it back to be refilled. Two cups later, he was feeling more awake and able to make coherent sentences. He hadn't realized however, that he was rather under-dressed.

Masaki didn't say anything, but she didn't have too. Now that the boys all had plates, she was able to focus on other things, like the obscene amount of scars that they had. They looked like patchwork quilts, she honestly didn't know how someone could get as many injuries as they did and still be alive. She knew enough about the human body to know that a lot of those wounds should have been fatal. Without thinking, she reached out and traced a nasty, jagged scar on Akira's arm.

The boys froze, only now realizing what state of (un) dress they were in.

"Uh, sorry Masaki-chan, we didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Kai said standing, "We'll go change, 'kay?"

"No, it's alright, I don't mind!" Masaki said hurriedly, "I'm the one who should be apologizing, not you. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." This caused the boys to pause, finally Yui spoke, "You mean…you aren't…disturbed by how…scared we are?"

Masaki shook her head, confused, "No, why would I be?"

As soon as she said that, she understood: people must have ridiculed them, or discriminated against them for their scars. And Yui…he had been so small and timid…and she had a feeling that the other three had been just as broken.

Kai shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Well, it's just…scars like these don't help a person's reputation much," he grinned, but it was hollow.

Without a word, she stood and slowly, pulled Kai into a hug, going around until she had hugged all four of them. "No," she told the shell-shocked boys, "I don't mind at all."

Shocked faces melted into gentle smiles as they resumed breakfast, unaware of the drama going on in the 4th division hospital.

--

* * *

Ichigo stood outside the door to his friends' room. It had been decided that for conveniences' sake to have all of them in the same room. A large storage room had been converted for this purpose.

"You know, they're not going to bite you," Tsunade said, "They're probably not even awake."

"I…I know, but….I-I can't help but feel like I failed them…" he trailed off, his voice growing weak at the end, fading into silence. Tsunade sighed, "You went back for them, you didn't give up and you got them out alive, what more do you want?"

She shook her head, "You…things could have turned out much worse than they did." She informed him, "With time, all of them are going to make a full recovery. They haven't been maimed, they are sane and their injuries will heal. Frankly, you were in worse condition when Nell brought you here than they are now."

Hope and light flashed in dark brown eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah, go in and talk to them." She motioned to the door, "They couldn't bite you know if they tried, the worse they can do right now is yell, and even then not very loudly."

She watched the orange haired boy walk through the door, and sighed. She really needed some sake. Now.

--

* * *

Ichigo closed the door quietly behind him, the soft 'clunk' echoing through the room. He gulped nervously, looking at his…did he even deserve to call them friends now?

"Hey…" he said softly, sitting beside Rukia and taking her slim, cold hand in his own larger one, "Sorry, I'm…so sorry that I left you there." He was crying, tears streaming down his face silently, "I'm so, so sorry."

A pale hand reached up and brushed against his face, wiping away his tear, "Don't cry you baka, you came back, that's all that matters," Rukia said softly.

"But-but I-"

"Shush, not a word," she said softly, "I'm alright, really, everyone is fine. You don't have to take on everything for yourself you know," she smirked, "Baka," she said affectionately.

It worked, bringing a watery grin to his face.

In the other three beds, three sets of eyes watched them, each with different thoughts attached.

Ishida was relieved his friend (because that was what he was, even if he'd rather die than admit it,) was finally getting a clue.

Chat was smiling slightly, happy for the not-quite-couple.

Orihime was…conflicted. She was happy for them, because they deserved to be happy, but a part of her desperately wanted to scream in pain, because there was no way for her and Kurosaki-kun to be together now. She sighed sadly and watched them through half open eyes, she wished she would be able to find a love like that.

Ishida, hearing the sigh, turned his attention to Orihime, who was still watching the drama on the other side of the room. His eyes darkened at the sadness in her eyes, an unknown feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

Chad looked between the two of them and shook his head, they honestly didn't have a clue…he smiled, they'd get it eventually. He hoped.


	31. Clan of Kurosaki

Chapter 31: Clan of Kurosaki

Masaki was not happy.

Actually, that would be an understatement, like saying the ocean was wet or the sun was hot. In short, she was pissed. It was a few days after she had made breakfast for the boys, she had spent all week brooding about the subject and keeping it hidden from her family.

She yanked the hairbrush through her hair, her husband watching her from the doorway. The family had moved into Isshin's old house a few days ago, once it had been cleaned up. It was about the size of their home in the living world.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Isshin asked finally when he decided that she wasn't going to say anything on her own. She pursued her lips and frowned, setting the hair brush down carefully so that she wasn't tempted to throw it at something.

"Isshin…when I went over to their apartment," she didn't need to say who's, "None of them were up, and when they did finally get up, none of them were fully dressed." She smiled slightly, "It was kind of cute, how they just sat there half awake, but…" here her smile disappeared, "They were covered in so many scars, and they were so afraid that I'd be…repulsed by them or something…the minute that they realized they weren't fully dressed, they literally paled so fast I thought that I'd done something terribly wrong. Then when I hugged them, it was like they didn't know how to respond," she was starting to cry, "Gods, Isshin, I hate what that war did to them-they were so afraid!" she turned into her husband, crying on his Yukata.

"Masaki-chan," he said softly, "They…are very strong boys," he started, "but you're right, they didn't know how to respond. Based on Yui's memories, none of them had mothers for very long, or a true family. That was…very likely the first time they could ever remember a mother-figure ever hugging them." He looked at her and smiled, "And it's probably the first time that they could remember someone caring for them like you do." At her questioning gaze, he smirked, "You've already all but legally adopted them, haven't you?"

She blushed, "Well, it's not like they have anyone to take care of them," she said defensively. Isshin laughed quietly, "I'm not mad at you," he said. "Frankly, I like those boys. They've taken Ichigo under their wings, teaching him more than I ever thought to and Karin and Yuzu seem to adore them, from what little they know about them." He paused, a knowing look on his face, "I think they would make excellent elder brothers, don't you? And Nell-chan is so cute-Karin and Yuzu have simply fallen in love with her."

Masaki's head snapped up, "Isshin-do you really mean that?" 

"Let's talk about it in the morning with the rest of the family, hmm?"

Masaki slept deeply, hoping that things would turn out well.

Isshin stayed up late into the night, holding his wife and thinking about the mystery that was the four Shinobi boys that had become the foundation of the most unique division ever seen.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A tanned hand shielded bright cerulean eyes from the harsh sun, beside him, pale jade eyes outlined with kohl surveyed the ruined landscape.

"So, you want to see your son? I think you'd be proud," Naruto said, grinning at his silent companion, "he's one hell of a kid."

"You have told me," Gaara said, his eyes still on the horizon, "Several times this month. Come, it will take us some time to get to Soul Society from where we are. At our best speed-three weeks." With that, the stoic Kazekage and the last Hokage set out.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Masaki smiled happily as she cooked lunch. She had invited the boys over, and sent her husband to make sure they came. She knew how involved they got in their work-it wouldn't be the first time they lost track of time and skipped a meal or two.

She was just finishing when her boys-all of them- trooped through the door.

"Hi Masaki-chan! Smells good!" Kai said, as exuberant as ever, his three brothers, her husband and son following behind the naturally hyperactive Shinobi. It didn't take long for the six boys to find a place at the low table and soon her family was talking happily with each other, the twins begging for stories about their adventures as Shinobi and the boys editing slightly as they gave them some of their less bloody stories.

Lunch was winding down when Masaki shot Isshin a 'look'. He nodded once and cleared his throat, brining everyone's attention to him. "Boys," he said, looking at the four Shinobi, "Masaki and I have been talking about this with the kids and we want to ask your opinion," he said seriously.

The boys traded confused looks, "Ok, what do you want to talk about?" Yui asked.

"We would like to adopt the four of you, and Nell-chan as well."

Utter silence.

Slowly, deliberately, Kai raised a hand and beat his fist against the side of his head, "I have got to remember to clean my ears out when I shower," he muttered, "I could have sworn you just said that you wanted to _adopt_ us."

"He did," Masaki confirmed, "We talked to Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu and they agree with us, we'd like you to be a part of our family." Yuzu looked at them with pleading eyes, "Please?" she asked, big brown eyes making the boys shift uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Karin said, adding her two cents, "You're more useful to have around than Goatbeard anyway."

"You're insane," Yuri said flatly, "Are you forgetting the fact that we're-" he shot a look at the twins and changed what he was going to say, "not very nice people…And Nell-chan is an Arrancar. Nobody is going to be very happy about that," he finished lamely.

"You mean because you killed people?" Karin asked, almost making the boys choke on air, "Mom and Dad explained it to us already. It didn't seem like you had much of a choice in the matter," she said, "We'd figured you were 'editing' your stories anyway."

"You two are smart little brats," Kai said at last. The twins grinned.

"I can't believe that we're even considering this!" Yui said, slamming his hands flat on the table. Everyone turned to look at him. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and said, "If you adopt us, you are turning yourselves into targets. Assassins will come, and they'll aim for you first." Dark, stormy eyes pleaded with them to understand.

"He…has a point," Kai said, crossing his arms, "We've already had over a dozen sabotage attempts, tying yourselves to us like that will basically paint big targets on you. "

"Hey! Are you saying I can't defend myself?" Ichigo demanded angrily.

"Yes," Akira said simply, causing Ichigo to nearly vault over the table, and he would have if Isshin hadn't restrained him, "In a frontal attack, we wouldn't worry, but Assassins only use tactics like that as a last resort, usually, the better ones don't give any warning and you wouldn't be able to detect them in time. You said yourself you can't sense reiatsu very well."

"We already talked about this," Isshin said, laying a hand on Masaki's shoulder, "Yoruichi agreed to teach the twins shunpo and Kisuki is going to add some of his tricks to the house. It's only temporary, but it should do until our house in the 14th is completed."

Akira summed it up nicely, "huh?"

"We know we're sitting targets out here, so what safer place to be from assassins than a division full of them?" Isshin said, proud of his own genus.

Kai leaned forward and looked at Yui, "He has a point, bro. I'm beginning to think we've been out-maneuvered on this one."

Yui glowered at his brother, coming to the same conclusion.

"Well, I can't think of any other reason to say no," Akira said, smiling, "Where do I sign?"

-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It didn't take long for the news to spread, though the four boys had tried their hardest to keep it under wraps. Of course, they underestimated the power of the Soul Society Grapevine.

The Kurosaki clan, as they were now unofficially called, had moved entirely to the 14th, in a simple house that was actually an extension of the boy's original apartment, it having been expanded right away for the extra six people. And where Nell goes, eventually Yachiru shows up, leading to the addition of another bed in Nell's room for Yachiru.

The division was half complete, the hardest part having just been completed. Now all that was left was to build the buildings and bridges. The main bridge to ground level was constructed first, by order of Masaki. It was a wide thing, with rails on the side and dozens of explosive notes on the underside.

Nell had become the mascot of the division, the Shinobi fiercely protective of their 'little sister'. This extended to Yachiru and Karin when their family adopted their leaders. Eventually, various Shinobi could be caught teaching the three basic Shinobi tricks, and Yachiru too when she showed up.

All in all, it looked as though the division was a success. There was even a steady, if small, flow of Shinobi from the outside to bolster their forces.

One of these was a young man with long black hair and soft brown eyes who went by the name of Haku.

"Excuse me," he called up to the gate guardian, "I heard that there was a new division being created?"

"Yes, and you are?" the giant asked, looking down at the young man. Surely this person couldn't be one of the Shinobi that he had heard so much about?

"My apologies, my name is Haku," the boy bowed slightly, smiling.

"Welcome to Soul Society, Haku," Jibando said kindly, "Head towards execution hill, you will be able to see the 14th division from there."

Haku smiled and bowed again, passing through the gate into Soul Society.

It was a short while later that he found himself standing at the base of the bridge.

"You looking to enlist?" a red haired young man said, grinning.

"Yes, is this the place?" Haku asked.

"Yup, follow me, I'll take you to Registration. Don't need you getting lost," the man said laughing, "By the way, my name's Kai, Kai Kurosaki."

"I am Haku."

Kai led their newest member up the bridge and to a large building on the first platform. Entering, Haku was greeted with what could only be described as organized chaos. People were everywhere, from all of the hidden villages he knew of, and many that could only come from ones he did not. They mixed and mingled, Kumo Shinobi beside Kiri and Konoha Shinobi without any ill will that he could sense.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Kai said, grinning at the newcomer, "Never thought I'd be working alongside Kumo Shinobi, that's for sure."

It didn't take long to register; Haku only had to fill out a few basic forms, like his name, age, relative age, village, rank and specialization.

"Now, we just need to get you a place to live…" Kai mused, looking around, "Ah! Kiyone, Sentaro!" he called, two people dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform with Konoha headbands appearing a second later.

"Though I felt you two hanging around," he said, shaking his head, "This is Haku, our newest member. Take him up to level four, you two should know where- you're here as much as the rest of us, anyway he needs to be assigned to one of the apartment complexes," Kai said, shoving Haku in their general direction.

Kiyone stuck her tongue out at him. "Bleh-whatever. You owe us lunch," She told him, grabbing one of his arms and dragging him away.

"You're one of the first Shinobi to come here from the outside," Sentaro said, from his other side as Kiyone waved to someone off to the side.

"Really?"

"Yeah, anyway, welcome to Division 14. This isn't really part of Soul Society, but no one could come up with anything different," Sentaro shrugged, "Anyway, did Kai explain anything?"

"Eh…no," Haku admitted sheepishly.

"Figures," Kiyone said, "He's one of the leaders and founders of this place, and he can't remember to tell the new recruits what they're supposed to do…listen up, we're not part of the 14th, but we do know what's generally going on around here. We'll explain what we know to you and if you have any questions, just ask one of the others."

"The division is divided into several 'layers, we're on the first one right now. 'Layers' refer to the general position of the platform you're on. Each platform has a number, this is number one, so you're in section 1-1, meaning layer one, platform one. Right now, there's about…fifteen to twenty platforms to a layer and…six layers, with room for up to five more if we need the room," Kiyone grinned at the awe-struck look on Haku's face and continued, "Each platform is about this size, built on top of them are the office buildings, mess halls and other things that need a lot of space," she said, taking the lead. They walked over a wide, arched bridge connecting two of the platforms.

She pointed to smaller structures that seemed to sprout out of the trees themselves, or built upon smaller platforms, "Those are some of the apartments. Once you're assigned to a team, you'll live in one of them, until then you live in one of the larger, group ones," This time she pointed to a large, square building, "That one is full right now, but they all look the same. Most people are living in those right now, seeing as there hasn't been time to organize teams as well as everything else."

"I…see…?" Haku said, feeling slightly overwhelmed, "What did you mean when you said you weren't a part of the 14th?"

"Ah…see…we got Yui to take us on as apprentices almost…how long ago was it?"  
she looked at Sentaro. "About… seven months, I think. There's been a lot of things going on for the last couple of months, it's been hard to keep track," he grinned ruefully.

"Anyway, we started training about seven months ago, and got our headbands about…three months ago, but we're still part of the 13th division. Though we seem to be spending about half our time here, nowadays," Kiyone said, grinning, "We're some of the only Shinigami to see what the division really looks like, Yui and the others want to save the appearance as a surprise for the nobles when it's completed. The only other Shinigami that know what it look like are the Kurosaki's, Captain Hitsugaya, and Vice-captains Rangiku Matsumoto and Yachiru Kusajishi."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Level four was as amazing as the others, despite being one of the less-completed ones. The platforms were done, as well as the framework for most of the buildings. Around him, thousands of clones swarmed, carrying out tasks with the originals, answering Haku's question as to just how they were able to build so much so fast.

"Hey, Yui!" Kiyone called, waving to a young man with long black hair held back tightly in a braid that reached his hips, loose black pants with a black tank top and the standard Shinobi open toed boots. He also had kind, blue-gray eyes.

"This is Haku, he's from the outside. Kai said to assign him to one of the apartments up here," she explained. Yui smiled and held out a hand, "Ah, welcome. I think there's room up on the third floor, it as a rather good view of the rest of the division," he said, pointing to one of the tallest buildings on the platform.

That was how Haku found himself settling into a nice, small apartment room that smelled of fresh wood. He shrugged and set his pack down on the futon that served as his bed. The room truly did have a good view, he thought as he looked out the window. Through it, he could see the other three levels under him, and the next three above him, high above in the iron-like trees.

"Zabuza-sama, will you find me here?" he asked nobody in particular, walking out to explore his new home.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

And that's the end of it.

Naruto and Gaara are on their way, and will be major players soon.

Past figures are reappearing, and new bonds are formed. What kind of repercussions will come from this?


	32. Nexus

Chapter 32: Nexus

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Captain Hitsugaya asked for the tenth time that morning. Yuri sighed, eyebrow twitching, "Yes. Urahara-jii and I went through this a dozen times; it will work fine if everything goes according to plan."

"Let's get started the, hmm?" Akira said, coming up to stand beside the two ice wielders. Around them, Shinobi stood around anywhere they could fit on the special scaffolding surrounding a hole left in one of the highest platforms. Down below them, on a platform built almost directly under the one they were on, Kai stood with piles of sand that he had spent the last few days making.

"ALRIGHT!" Yui shouted, the chatter stopping instantly. He chuckled nervously, not quite used to the obedience that they gave him. It still caught him by surprise, though he assumed his brothers had something to do with it. Shaking his head to get rid of the excess thoughts, he said "Everyone knows what to do, let's get started. Kai! You're up!" The last part he shouted down to his brother who grinned and gave him two thumbs up.

Seconds later, they could feel his spirit energy rising, lifting the sand in thick swirls. Within a few minutes, it had shaped into a sort of giant sand sphere, hollow and with various holes in the sides.

"Akira!" Yui called. His brother nodded and placed his hands gently on the wood. It creaked and groaned, the Shinobi standing around him shifted uneasily. Thin tendrils of new growth wound around the sand structure, supporting it. They glowed with green fire, calm and steady.

"Alright! Fire Group!"

From all around the great sand structure roughly half the Shinobi, and a few of the Shinigami let loose with their strongest fire based attacks, superheating the sand. Aikira grunted and forced more energy into the wooden limbs holding the glowing blob in place.

"Now, Water group- hit it with everything you have!" Yui shouted, releasing his own jutsu. The other half of the Shinobi, and Captain Hitsugaya let loose. Water and ice turned to steam as the molten sand hardened, kept in place by Akira. At Yui's signal, they stopped, leaving a hollow blob of glass that glinted in the sunlight, hazy and not entirely clear due to the little bits of sand that hadn't quite melted.

"Akira, that's enough!" Yui called to his brother, who collapsed in a boneless heap, drained of most of his energy. He glared down through the wood, this was all Kai's damn fault. Groaning he hauled himself up. Masaki-kaa-chan said she was going to make cookies today… he hoped she'd brought lunch for them.

Kai was feeling very pleased with himself. His plan went off without a hitch. "And now, I suppose I should get to work, ne?" he asked the bemused Shinobi beside him. More sand rose up and swirled around the giant, slightly distorted orb and ground against it, the fine sand polishing it both inside and out.

What they were left with was a clear, crystal like orb made of thick glass. He nodded, very satisfied with himself. It was very impressive, if he did say so himself. He'd used the purest sand he could find, and made it very fine. The construct itself was about fifty feet tall, and a hundred feet in diameter. It was slightly warped, but beautiful, the tree limbs that Akira make being covered in places by clear glass.

"Now that," he said to the Shinobi beside him, "Is Shinobi engineering." Said Shinobi shook his head, it was certainly an interesting way to build something. Captain Hitsugaya shrugged, impressed despite himself. These Shinobi were completely unpredictable- they seemed to pull crazy ideas out of their ass that actually worked! It was enough to give him one hell of a headache if he thought about it too hard, so he didn't.

The group dispersed to their other jobs while pre-made glass tubes were brought in. They had been made in a more normal way, using molds with seals etched backwards into them so that when the whole thing was put together, they would be ready.

Speaking of, Shinobi teams were hauling in the prepared glass and setting it up, using medium powered fire jutsu to fuse the pieces together.

That was what Masaki walked into when she arrived with her family's lunch. She stared at them for a moment, watching the sun shine through them. They looked like diamonds!

"Pretty cool, ne?" Kai said, right behind her. She jumped, a hand flying to her heart, "Kai! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

Kai gave his patented Cheshire grin, his sand drifting up to form a pair of cat ears in his spiky red hair, "Dunno. Hasn't worked yet though," he said, ducking under the half-hearted swipe at his head. Masaki chuckled despite herself. He loved to sneak up behind people and scare them, though he did it mostly with the Shinigami, who were less likely to impale him with something.

"Kai, if you must do that, then do it when she doesn't have our lunch," Yuri said, wandering over with Captain Hitsugaya right behind him. Kai pouted comically, "But it's fun!"

"And I'm hungry," Akira said, taking the basket from Masaki, "Ruin my lunch and I'll have to hurt you."

"Alright boys, no brawls until after lunch," Isshin said, sweeping in to kiss his wife while the boys rolled their eyes. Soon enough they were enjoying a makeshift picnic in the treetops, catching up on the day's events. It was a peaceful, relaxed setting, one that the four Shinobi were determined to enjoy to the fullest, knowing how rare they were.

By the end of the week, they had finished with the water supply system. It was filled by another product of Shinobi-engineering. More specifically, giant pipes leading into the cliff on execution hill were connected to the water supply of Soul Society and angled down slightly so that gravity would take the water up to the holding chamber where it would then be carried by pipes to where it was needed. For medical purposes, Tsunade had demanded a separate reservoir for the medical station. The whole system was made using several inches thick glass- the largest pieces being about a foot thick and made by Kai. Akira covered them in as many seals as they would hold.

There was only one thing left to do: choose who would be in charge of the new division. There were four candidates: Akira, Kai, Yuri and Yui. There was one problem: none of them wanted to be in charge.

"But you four are already leading the…division? Unit? Anyway, this would just make it more official," One of the Shinobi said, a Hyuuga by the name of Hitomi.

"But Hitomi," Kai whined, dragging out her name, "I don't wanna! Besides, it's all Yui's ideas anyway-we're just the hapless minions that he orders around!"

"'Hapless minions'?" Yui said, raising an eyebrow, "That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think? And a good number of those orders come from you lot anyway."

The debate continued, or would have if Tsunade didn't get tired of it. "**SHADDUP**!"

The room got deathly silent.

"You four quit your whining," she said, glaring at her godsons. "Whether you like it or not, you are the best qualified people to run this."

"But-but-but you're a Kage!" Kai protested.

"And I'll have my hands full with medical issues," she countered, "There are too few medic-nin here, most of them decided to stay in fourth, where they're needed more. In general, there are too many people and not enough medics of sufficient skill. Unohana is good, but she has no skill in field hospitals. Her Vice-captain is a nervous wreck. Going down the line, it gets worse. I have my hands full. Unohana and I are working out an exchange program to fix that. I can't do both jobs at once."

As much as they wanted to deny it, she had a point. Fourth division was good, they were very good, they just weren't good enough.

Three sets of eyes turned to Yui. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Yui asked slowly, sure he would not like the answer.

He was right.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"I hate you all," Yui said, looking at his family, "I hate you all and you are going to die."

His brothers, all four of them, shared looks of varying amusement. "Hate us all you like, brother dear," Kai said, far too cheerful, "You're in charge, and that's the end of it." Yui glared at them all, "I am going to find a way to make you pay for this, just wait."

"I'm sure you will," Akira said, taking a long drink from his Saki bottle, "But until then, we are going to enjoy your suffering."

"Quit whining," Tsunade said, "It's not the end of the world."

Off to the side, Masaki and Isshin shared a quiet laugh.

It was the opening night, the captains from the rest of the divisions as well as the other Shinigami had been invited, not only to meet those who would be running their new sister organization, but also so that they could show off all their hard work. Looking around Masaki decided that a little showing off was deserved, it was a very impressive place.

Yui had done the final thing earlier that day with Rangiku. The reservoirs of liquid mako had been woven into the trees, platforms and water supply, providing a constant source of power to the multitudes of seals that kept the place secure, as well as extra support. They also provided a source of light at night, glowing with a soft, reassuring, pale green light. It gave the organization a very magical feeling.

In the center of the larger platforms, Yui and Rangiku had used mako from the deeper stores to create tall, hexagonal crystals that stretched up about fifteen feet and branched out to the webbing of finer crystals. She leaned into one of the crystals, enjoying the warmth that emanated from it. She smiled, this place was truly a work of art. She looked at Yui who himself looking out at the rest of his division. Tsunade had sat both her and Isshin down and explained about Cetra to them, and now she could see what she meant. Yui and Rangiku, not to mention the other three boys, had put so much of themselves into this place, it had become a part of them.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Yui was content.

Everything was finished, there was nothing that needed his attention at the moment and his 'guests' were proceeding along the path that had been marked out for them without too much trouble. He looked out at his home, he was standing on one of the upper platforms, and had a good view of the ones below him. It was a wonderful view. He smirked, it would be fun to see the faces of the various nobles who were coming.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Rangiku and her Captain walked along the path with the others. Rangiku was grinning, bouncing along the path. She couldn't wait to see the look on Captain Hitsugaya's face when he saw what they had done. Sentaro and Kiyone were the same way, though they refused to say a word about the division. Yachiru had told Captain Zaraki that she had been sworn to secrecy.

Rounding a corner, the Shinigami froze, above them loomed a spectral city suspended in the trees. Infront of them, a wide ramp led upward. In truth, it wasn't so much a ramp as a series of staircases and platforms, making a pathway up to the first of the platforms. Rangiku, Sentaro and Kiyone dragged their respective captains forward, Nanao following behind them with her own captain following her in open amazement.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Rangiku said to her captain, who could only nod in agreement. The other Shinigami were similarly impressed, some just standing there and staring.

It was nothing like what they were expecting.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

As dawn broke over Soul Society, two cloaked travelers arrived at the gates.

"Hey!

The gatekeeper looked down to see two cloaked figures looking up at him. The one who spoke had startlingly blue eyes and brilliant blond hair with three whisker-like marks on his face. The other was an impassive man, as silent as his companion was loud. His teal eyes stared blankly up at the gatekeeper from under bloody red hair. He could see the kanji for 'love' etched onto his forehead.

"And who are you?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this guy here is Gaara. We heard that there was a new division for Shinobi that was accepting new members."

The Gatekeeper nodded, "Yes, though it is technically not a division of Soul Society. It is called Nexus. This Hell Butterfly will guide you there." The black butterfly floated down to orbit the blonds' head as the gatekeeper opened the gate for the travelers to pass through. Saying their thanks, the two Kage level Shinobi entered their new home.

* * *

A/N:

Sooooo sorry that this is beyond late. Between the computer crashing, losing all my data on my stories and various assorted things, I lost track of time and the story itself. Things are coming to a head as the new Organization is opened and two more Kage level Shinobi arrive.


	33. Reunion

Chapter 33: Reunion

Naruto let out a low whistle as he and Garra entered the forest where Nexus was based. It was truly an impressive sight. Above them Shinobi from every village they knew, and many they didn't, raced through the trees, while black robed Shinigami took the forest path. Coming to the staircase, Naruto mockingly gestured for Garra to take the lead. The redhead did so, a minor twitch of his lips indicating his amusement.

Naruto chuckled and followed, looking around in interest. It was defiantly unusual, and he had a sneaking suspicion as to the creators. He rolled his eyes, only those four would come up with something like this, and furthermore be able to make it a reality. In truth, he was surprised he hadn't run into Yoruichi or Kisuki yet…

He shrugged, he'd have to look them up later, or face Yoruichi's wrath which was something he'd like to put off for as long as possible. It wasn't his fault he was dropped off in eightieth district, took a couple decades to remember who-and what-he was and then another few to find Garra. He winced, that was an interesting event that was never going to see the light of day.

Taking his first good look around, he let out a low whistle. One simply couldn't get the full scope of the place from grand level. It was massive, huge platforms reaching high into the trees and stretching out as far as he could see. He had a feeling that a ridiculously large amount of elemental and shadow clones were used. The suspicion was confirmed when three identical men hauled a large glass tube off in some direction on the next platform over.

"Come," Garra said, "You can look around later, the…butterfly seems to have somewhere specific to take us."

Naruto looked back at the little black creature and sure enough, it was moving across the platform in a straight line towards a large building that had people swarming around it like ants around an upturned nest. Deciding that he may as well go along with it as he didn't have anywhere else to go, he followed Garra into the building.

The inside was even more chaotic than the outside, Naruto thought as he looked around. Everywhere he looked, someone was doing something. The assortment of desks crowded in the front room were piled high with paper as paper airplanes and black butterflies flew over head, the former with a seal that he'd never seen before. He was very tempted to grab one of the little notes just to copy down the seal…

"Don't even think about it," Garra murmured, seizing the blond mobile catastrophe by the arm and dragging him in the direction of what appeared to be the registry desk.

Said desk was manned by a rather frazzled looking young man who looked at them warily and started pulling out forms. The Hell butterfly, it's task complete, disintegrated right under the young man's nose, sending him into a violent sneezing fit.

"I habe thobs banm thibs," he muttered crossly, glaring at the spot where the butterfly had been and pulling out a pack of tissues. Naruto stifled a snicker as he accepted the papers handed to him by the sniffling secretary who looked very tempted to throw tissue at the blond. Garra rolled his eyes, long accustomed to the blonds' childish behavior, and handed back his neatly filled-out paperwork. A few minutes later, Naruto handed over his somewhat-less neat papers and the young man nodded.

"Good," the young man said, shoving the papers into an overflowing file, "Now, we just have to find some place to put you," he muttered, more to himself than the two infront of him. "Ah-HA!" he shouted triumphantly as he dragged a map from under one of the piles of paperwork, somehow managing to keep it from ending up all over the floor.

"There's room up on level four, south side, platform nine. I'll get someone to show you the way, hold on." He wrote something on a spare piece of paper, flipped it over and scribbled a seal on it. Channeling some energy into the seal, the piece of paper folded itself into a paper airplane and sped off.

They didn't have to wait long for their guide to show up. A red haired man sauntered in cheerfully, and froze.

--------

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry for the beyond-long wait, but I've started a re-write of ANBU Shinigami after going back and reading through it. I looked at what I wrote and almost fell over in horror.

I have the first two chapters done as well as the prologue and am well underway with the third. I've posted the new version now, so check it out. I'll leave the old version up for comparison purposes and to show the changes in writing.

Thank you for putting up with my erratic-at-best update schedule and if you have the time, take a look at my crossover story, Liminality.


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